The Suspects
by aloette
Summary: Five small-time criminals begin an ill-fated association, and through it all, a crimnal mastermind watches their every move. AU.
1. Chapter 1

This was an idea that I came up with as I walked out of a Hollywood Videos store. I dunno how or why I thought of this, but oh well. The idea of the story comes from the movie, _The Usual Suspects_. It is a very good movie and I would recommend it to anyone. It's rated R.

Of course I didn't copy everything because that would be boring, but I wanted to show the main plot. It's a great plot, I'm telling you.

This is an AU fic, meaning that the characters will be OOC, though I will try my best. There are some times when the way some people act will make you go, WTF! But bear with me, it'll make sense in the end.

Also, all comments/critisism/flames are accepted. I would like to know what people think. However, keep in mind that things will make more sense as the story goes on.

Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, nor do I own _The Usual Suspects._

_----------_

It was late at night. The moon's shape was reflected on the calm waters of the harbor. In the bay, only a few ships were anchored. On one ship, large boxes decorated the edges. It looked to be some sort of freighter, carrying a load of supplies. A man leaned against a jumble of boxes. His hair was matted with water and dirt, having the look of a beggar. Though in his mind he fretted over the look of his features, deep down he knew that there were currently matters more pressing.

_Is it…finally over?_

Suoh Tamaki's head was swirling with thoughts as he leaned against a large pile of cargo. Weakly, he took out a pack of matches and picked one out. He light the match and dropped it. The match hit the ground, and it ignited a trail along the wooden deck. He was hoping to ignite and blow up the ship, even if he died, as long as the ship was gone, it would be all right.

_It would be better this way._

However, the trail that the match was traveling along had stopped. He looked up. From the second floor of the ship, a tall man in a dark coat had stopped the trail with a dump of sea water from a worn bucket. It was a perfectly aimed stream of water, and the fuse went out. The man began to walk down the stairs to where Tamaki sat.

Tamaki made no attempt to move. Even if he had wanted to, his legs had become completely paralyzed, and it was twisted, like a contorted pretzel.

The man stopped in front of Tamaki, and asked, "How are you doing, Tamaki?"

"I…cannot feel my legs…," he said looking up and trying to identify the man.

Although Tamaki was feeling a lot of pain at this moment in time, he made no sound, merely forcing his pain to stay quiet.

_It'll be over soon._

The man took out a golden fountain pen and placed it in his coat pocket. He preferred the pen to be near him. When Tamaki saw the pen, he knew who it was. He gasped inward, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, but it was soon gone, replaced by resignation.

"How are you Kumori?" he asked.

A small grunt was all Tamaki heard. He asked, "What time is it?"

After looking at his golden watch, the man said, "12:30. You ready?"

Tamaki almost made no noise. A barely audible, "Yeah," was heard by the man.

Then, the man in the coat took out a gun and aimed it at Tamaki. Two shots rang through the night in Tokyo Bay.

The man lit a match and dropped it on the ground. It picked up the trail of the flame where Tamaki's match had left off. He agilely climbed down the ladder to jump onto the deck from the boat, just as it exploded.

The boat went up in flames and the man was gone.

----------

The next day, Haninozuka Mitsukuni, a Japanese government agent, AKA Hunny, was surveying the damage done in Tokyo Bay. A ship had been blown up, and the police was beginning to find the bodies.

"How many dead are there?" he asked.

"Twenty-seven so far. But there might be more," said a police officer.

"Are there any survivors?"

"Yeah, there's a Chinese gang member and a cripple from Osaka."

"Thank you."

Hunny was no man to underestimate. Although he was small in size, his marital arts skill was dangerous and revered among his colleagues. Upon graduation in college, he had joined his family's dojo, eventually recommended to do work as a government agent in the field where all the action was.

And so here he was.

----------

Hunny speedily walked through the hospital, led by a few doctors.

He had wanted to see the gang member, one of the two survivors. However, he had received over 60 of burns on his body and wasn't expected to live long. Hunny wanted to try to talk to him before the man's "porch lights blew out."

After putting on the standard hospital scrubs - because the doctor explained that infection spreads quickly - Hunny was finally permitted to see the dying man.

The man was Chinese, and the burns had taken away his ability of speech, and he was blurting out nonsense. Even Hunny, who had learned Chinese from school, could not understand any of this gibberish until he heard-

"Kumori Wang."

"What?"

"Kumori. Wang. Kumori. Wang…KUMORI WANG!" the poor man was yelling.

His heart beat leapt immediately. It was going up and down rapidly, and the nurses were trying to calm him down.

Hunny immediately placed a call, his loli-shota face becoming darker and more solemn. There was somebody who would want to see this.

"Hello, is this the Department of Justice? Haninozuka here. I want Kasanoda at the Tokyo County Hospital right now. Yes, this is… Yes, it will interest him a lot. Thank you."

Kasanoda Ritsu was always interested in Kumori Wang, pursuing him like "that reporter on _The Incredible Hulk_." Hunny didn't get it since it was probably an American joke.

Soon enough, Kasanoda arrived in scrubs and a scowl on his face. "What the hell is going on?"

With his vibrant red hair and famous scowl, Kasanoda was known as a black horse in his family. Though he was from the most powerful yakuza family in Tokyo, he had gone in a completely opposite direction. He worked for the government in the Department of Justice. His looks still scared people, but they knew that he was a good person at heart.

Unfortunately, the gang member had resumed speaking gibberish. Hunny was getting worried because Kasanoda was looking more and more irritated until…

"Kumori…Wang!" cried out the dying man.

"What?" asked Kasanoda.

"Kumori Wang! Kumori Wang! I saw…the face…of…of…the devil!!"

This was enough for Hunny, who quickly translated for Kasanoda. "Quick! Bring in an artist! We can try to get the man to describe him!"

----------

Houshakuji Renge was a Japanese Customs Special Agent and she calmly walked into the police station, but her voice betrayed otherwise.

"What are you saying, police inspector! Let me talk to him!" Her voice was raising higher and higher.

"I'm telling you what happened, Renge-san! Listen, this whole deal has turned political. The mayor was here. A government representative called this morning. The other survivor, Ohtori Kyouya, well, his lawyer came in five minutes later with a statement. He's got total immunity. The D.A. agent looked like he got slapped around by the boogeyman."

"But did Ohtori get charged with anything?"

"Yeah, yeah. Like weapons, misdemeanor two."

Renge's face fell, and she moved aside in the hallway to let someone through.

"Look, I credit the D.A. for getting that much. This guy's protected from up high from the Prince of Darkness, no one can touch him," the police inspector continued.

"How much longer until he posts bail?"

"Two hours. But Renge-san, you may want to talk to him, but he won't talk to you. He won't go in the interrogation room. He knows it tapped. Doesn't want his voice recorded."

"We don't have to it in the interrogation room. It'll just be a friendly chat until he posts bail. That's all."

By now, the two were seated in the police inspector's office. The room was filled with papers decorating the desk, but it was all compositions of music. In the corner, a piano was covered with a sheet, more music sheets piled on. It seemed like the police inspector was more interested in music than work, but Renge chose to ignore this detail.

"But where would you talk?"

Renge looked around the messy office. "Here."

"No, no, no. I won't let you Renge-san."

"If it was a dope deal, where's the dope? If it was a hit, who called it?"

"And I'm sure you have you own wild theories surrounding this."

"I'm sure you're familiar with my way of thinking."

The police inspector gave a slight groan. He would never forget the day he met this…otaku.

Then he spoke. "Renge-san. I want to forget about this whole ordeal. The man has full immunity, and his story is all correct. He doesn't know what you want to know."

"Well, I think there's a lot more to his story. I don't think he's saying everything. I want to know why twenty-seven men died on that ship for ninety-one million dollars worth of dope that wasn't there. And most importantly, I want to make sure Suoh Tamaki is dead."

Renge's determination won out. Arrangements were made to bring one Ohtori Kyouya to the police inspector's office.

----------

Ohtori Kyouya sat patiently in the police inspector's office. He had exchanged everything he knew for immunity. It was the perfect deal, and his eyes looked around the room, staring at all the clippings on the wall, the small cigarette case with mosaic design. He was completely safe, and gave a self-contented smiled when the door opened sharply.

A woman and man walked in. After brief introductions, the woman leaned closer to him. "I want you to tell me everything you know. I want to start from the very beginning. I-"

"Renge-san, the man has immunity," the inspector interrupted with a sigh. Honestly, why couldn't the woman learn anything? Had she not been taught about personal space?

Kyouya looked up at her. "May I have some coffee?"

"Later, after you tell me everything."

"Well, you know, I could tell my lawyer that you mistreated me by not allowing me a simple request, and I could very-"

"I'll get your stinking coffee." the inspector stood up suddenly. "You want one too, Renge-san?"

"Yes thank you." She waited until he had left and stuck a finger in his chest, her eyes glaring. "And most of all, I want to make sure Suoh Tamaki is dead."

The crippled man only looked into her eyes, unmoved, emotionless.

When the inspector returned with the coffee, Kyouya said, "Well, even if you gave me coffee, I could still have you removed from your job. Why, when I worked in that coffee farm out in the West, that was the real thing. Fresh. It was right off the trees. This is shit, but then again this is a police station."

Renge and the police inspector, Takaoji Shirou, looked at each other. Takaoji left the office to let the two speak.

"Ohtori, you're not telling me anything. We want to help you."

"I know, and I appreciate that very much," replied Kyouya pleasantly.

"Please, I want you to tell me everything. And to begin, you'll need to cooperate with us."

"I did. It's all in my statement. I told the D.A. everything."

Takaoji had walked to another room. It was the electronic room. He gave a small nod of acknowledgement to the technician. Then he sat down next to a recording machine and adjusted the dials on a receiver until he heard the voices of Renge and Kyouya.

"I know you liked Suoh Tamaki. I know you think he was a good man," Renge was saying.

"He was a good man. Sure he had some crazy ideas once in a while, but he was a good person," replied Kyouya.

"He was a corrupt cop, Ohtori."

"Sure, maybe fifteen years ago. He is the kind of person who gets duped easily. He probably thought he was doing good by stealing. Anyway, the cops wouldn't let him go legit."

"Suoh Tamaki was a piece of crap."

"Agent Houshakuji, I have yet to utter a single threat, so I believe you are overreacting to this situation. May I remind you-"

"I just want to hear your story!" Renge was getting impatient.

Kyouya tapped a pile of papers in front of him. "It's all here."

Renge flipped through the pages while looking at Kyouya at the same time. "According to this statement, you're just a short-con operator. Run-of-the-mill stuff."

When there was no answer, Renge moved on, "Well, you got yourself a pretty good deal. Total immunity."

"Well, not exactly," Kyouya said. "I might face some time because of that weapons misdemeanor."

"Whatever." Renge gave a dismissive wave. "You know what? The first thing I learned was how to spot a murderer. Let's say you arrest three people for the same killing. In the morning, the murderer is the one who'll be sleeping. You see, he knows he's been caught, so he lets his guard down. Following me?"

"What is your point?"

"My point is that I'm smarter than you. And I'm going to get what I want whether you like it or not." She looked at him triumphantly, but the man looked right back at her.

"Right now, I understand that you have a rather childish way of looking at things."

Takaoji entered the room again. He didn't want the two alone in the room for too long. (I don't mean it like that.)

Seeing the police inspector, Renge started again. "Okay, so I want you to start from the beginning. I want you to go back to the line-up in Osaka six weeks ago."

The man took his time, sipping his coffee and looking at his interrogator. _This might be going against the deal, but it'll be fun._

Then he sighed a final time, and began his story.

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Was it ok? Please tell me what you think by reviewing.

Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

Ahaha. Here's the second chapter.

Thank you so much RandomFun for being my first ever reviewer. I was literally jumping into the air out of pure joy. So thank you, again. I dedicate this chapter to you!

Note: This is an AU, so they never went to Ouran, never met before except for a few exceptions, and they are not rich. I repeat: They are not rich – or they wouldn't even be in these situations.

The rest of them come in this chapter.

Just to clarify: the italicized part is Kyouya saying the words to Renge, and the regular print is what happened. You see it as it happened, according to Kyouya. That's important to know, BTW.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, simple.

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_Six weeks ago, a hijacked truck full of gun parts was found in Osaka. Somebody had screwed up, and the police wanted to know._

_The driver heard a voice, sometimes that's all you need…_

_----------_

Five policemen barged into an apartment. In a small bed in the back, a man was sleeping. He was wearing boxer shorts and had a tussled, yet handsome face. His messed up brown hair covered one his eyes.

He had heard the men come in, but he still pretendedbe asleep. His face looked more annoyed than frightened.

"Hitachiin Hikaru?" asked one policeman, shining a flashlight in his face.

"Jesus Christ…What time is it?" came a groggy voice.

"We have a warrant for your arrest."

"…Don't you damn guys ever sleep?" he asked, digging his face deeper into his pillow.

The police dragged him away, amidst his cries of swearing.

----------

A young woman was trying to fix her battered old car when a group of policemen in suits barged into her garage.

They strode into the small confined area confidently, and the sound of their shoes echoed off the walls.

"Fujioka Haruhi?"

She didn't look directly at them. Rather, she adjusted the rear-side window of her car to get a glimpse at them.

"Does it matter?" she asked.

"The police want to know."

_Damn police…they didn't even knock._

She reached under her car.

Seeing this, the police quickened their pace and took out their guns. "Hold it! Freeze right there!"

It was a handkerchief. She wiped the sweat off her forehead, and looked at the police who were now surrounding her.

"Are sure you brought enough guys?"

She threw the handkerchief away.

----------

A tall man walked out from the corner, wearing a red button shirt in a black suit. He had really wanted to go home to get some sleep, so he began walking towards the public garage. Maybe he could hack open a car or something. That was when he spotted a Suzuki car behind him, going as slow as a snail, as if to trail him.

After a few blocks it was obvious that the car was following him.

He was about to turn in into the garage when the Suzuki blocked his way and two other cars trapped him from behind.

Two cops came out. He could have easily fought back, but they were holding guns. They grabbed his hands and forced him into one of the cars.

----------

A group of police led by Japanese Customs Special Agent Houshakuji Renge walked down a staircase that led to a fancy restaurant.

Even from the entrance, she could see her man. She beckoned towards the group of cops behind her, and they strode towards a table.

Suoh Tamaki was sitting at a table with his lawyer, and two potential investors for the restaurant. The investors were French and Tamaki could easily converse with them.

"So, the menu changes seasonally, but the atmosphere will not change. In other words--"

"This I had to see for myself," came a voice.

Tamaki looked behind him. He gave an inward groan, but smiled and said pleasantly, "How do you do, Renge-san."

Then he introduced Renge to the rest of his party. She gave a small smile, it soon turned to business.

"Is there anything you need?" he asked her.

"Yeah, you need to come with me."

"I'm in the middle of a meeting, as you can see."

"Time for another."

The investors were speaking to each other in rapid French. The lawyer was trying her best to calm the two men down. She, too, spoke French as well. She looked at Tamaki, a worried look on her face. Why were the cops here? Hadn't she gotten rid…

When he stood up, so did the investors. "No, no, no. This is a very small matter. It'll take only a few minutes. Please wait patiently," Tamaki reasoned.

"Are you sure?" asked one of the men.

"Yes, yes. Please, just wait here."

And he walked away with Renge and the group of policemen.

----------

_I didn't understand why I was there. I knew I hadn't done anything they could do me for. These people were hard-core hijackers, but there I was. Besides, it was interesting. It was a new experience for me._

Five people lined up against a wall. The wall had markings on it, revealing the height of each person. The woman was the shortest, at five feet two inches. The tallest was the man in the red shirt and black suit. He stood at six feet and four inches. They were all there for the traditional police line-up.

The light beaming from the ceiling blinded all of them. A police sergeant and two other cops were sitting along a desk behind a glass wall. They were the ones in charge today, old veterans accustomed to this routine.

"Okay, you know the drill. When your number is called, step forward and repeat what has been given to you on the card."

The voice that the truck driver had heard had said the words that these five people would now repeat. It was a usual way to determine which voice matched the voice heard. However, it wasn't always effective because the driver could always change his testimony. So the procedure was really just a formality.

"Number one, step up," said the sergeant.

Fujioka Haruhi was first.

She held the card in her hand, and looked at it before asked, "Must I say this?"

She was sensibly dressed, wearing a pair of worn jeans and a blue sweater. Her hair was short and messy, and she had bobby pins trying to keep the strands of hair from falling into her face.

"You are to say what is given to you on the card. Understand?" came the voice over the microphone.

Hikaru, who was next to her, leaned over to see what was written. He began laughing, causing the others to look at him strangely.

Haruhi decided to go with it. She sighed and said in a bored voice, "Hand me the damn keys, you bastard."

And soon enough, the others began to crack up. This might even be funner than they thought. There was always room for improvision.

Hikaru went next. He was much more dramatic, even holding up his fingers in a makeshift gun and shaking his tongue, which wobbled his voice. He also added some more colorful words to the ones on the card.

"Knock it off, number two!" the sergeant yelled into the microphone.

Next up was Morinozuka Takashi, AKA Mori. He took one look at the card given to him by Hikaru. They usually partnered together for a lot of jobs. The tall man betrayed no emotion other than a small perk in the lips. Hikaru was still laughing, and he lightly punched his friend on the arm.

He read the lines in a low bass voice.

_Why couldn't everyone just read his or her lines like this guy? _the sergeant wondered. _Maybe I'm getting too old…_

Suoh Tamaki was standing with as much dignity and pride as he could in this situation. He had taken off his jacket, and was using it to protect him from the blinding lights. The look on his face said, I-am-very-annoyed-and-I'm-not-afraid-to-let-you-know. When he said the lines, he placed special emphasis on the swear words.

Last was Ohtori Kyouya, who had a limp in his left leg. This caused his speed to be considerably slower than average people, and it also caused people to think he was a worthless cripple. All his life he was discriminated because of his limp. He placed an emphasis on 'me', and glared at the officers behind the glass wall.

_You don't put five guys in a room like this. Who knows what can happen? _

_It was obviously a trumped-up charge and the police didn't know where to go. And then they made sit us there the whole night. It was wrong. Our rights went out the window. It was horrible; it was disgraceful. _

_They were probably hoping that someone would slip up. They went after Hikaru first, a top-notch entry man. He tended to let his emotions get the better of him, though. I recall that he would get upset at the smallest things. He was a good man though._

"What truck?" Hikaru asked. "Am I going to be questioned every time a truck goes missing?"

A small group of policemen were pacing around in the interrogation room while Hikaru sat in a chair, a table in front of him. "The truck with the gun parts, idiot."

"Idiot, huh?" Hikaru feigned a scared look, but he was laughing.

One policeman leaned closer. "You wanna know what your friend Morinozuka told us?"

----------

"What?" asked Mori. He didn't like saying too much. It just wasn't him. Usually he just let Hikaru speak for him, and he didn't mind it at all, but he was alone in the interrogation room, surrounded by cops who were as dumb as flies.

"Hitachiin Hikaru. He told us an entirely different story," said a cop.

"Oh." Mori paused. Then he deadpanned, "Did he tell you the story about the cat that got dysentery?"

_Mori always worked with Hikaru. He never said much; the word 'succinct' describes him precisely. But when it came down to the job, he was right on. An intelligent man._

----------

"I'm not going to say anything. I'm a law student, and I know what you're trying to do. So don't act like you're so familiar with the whole system." It was rare for Fujioka Haruhi to get upset, but the arrogance of these cops were getting to her.

"Right, that whole law student thing?" asked a cop, sneering.

"I'm going to have your badge if you try to do anything…" she was saying angrily.

_Fujioka Haruhi, good with armaments and explosives. A struggling law student though she was a bright and capable women. I guess crime was to help pay for tuition. She was indeed the one woman who could carve out your heart with her incredibly blunt words._

"Well, I could put you in Izumi the night of the hijacking," said an officer.

Without batting an eyelash, she replied, "I live in Izumi. Did you put that together yourself? Or is the police force so incapable these days?"

_----------_

"I'm going to charge you so hard that you--" the police officer was cut off.

"With what?" asked Suoh Tamaki calmly. He had folded his hands on the table, though he ached badly to beat up each and every one of these cops.

"You know damn well, Suoh."

_But Suoh? Suoh Tamaki was their goal for obvious reasons._

"It was your mistake," he said, pointing at one officer. "Not mine." He shook his head slowly and deliberately and looked around the room.

"Did you ever stop to ask me? Hm? I mean, I've never changed my name, I've literally been walking around with the same name and face," he continued. He pointed at himself, "I'm a businessman."

"Yeah, what's that? The restaurant business? No, from now on, you're in the getting-screwed-by-us-business, you got that?" another cop said.

Tamaki shook his face and looked into the eyes of one of his interrogators. "Like I said. It was your mistake. Not mine. If you charge me with any of this bull, I'll beat it back into your face. You got that? Now, let's get back to that tru-"

WHACK!

One cop had landed a punch right in his face.

----------

A bruise had formed on Tamaki's face. It was beginning to swell and turn purple, and he was nursing it with an ice pack. _I must look horrible right now._ In the cell that he was sitting in, four other people were also there, pacing about or sitting on a bench.

He was sitting away from the other four. Haruhi was trying to sleep on another bench. She was lying down on her back, staring into the endless ceiling. Mori and Kyouya sat on a bench, too, but not on the same one.

"Somebody should do something. This isn't right. Just because I did some time before, does that mean I'm going to get in trouble because a truck finds its way gone?" Hikaru paced about angrily.

"Yeah, there's no concrete evidence," Haruhi muttered quietly.

"Dammit! Does that mean I'm always going to get caught because of this? Because they treat me like a criminal, are they going to make me a criminal?" Hikaru was getting more and more frustrated.

"Well, you are a criminal," deadpanned Haruhi. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself back at home, in her apartment, writing her thesis.

"Why'd you have to say that? I was trying to make a point."

"Then, please, make your point. You're making me tired all over again." Tamaki rubbed his head and closed his eyes.

Mori spoke for the first time. "I heard you were dead," he said to Tamaki.

"You heard right." Tamaki brushed his finger through his hair. It was a light blonde color, but the toll of the night had left it messed up.

"I heard that you've gone clean. Is it true that you're with Jounouchi Ayame?" asked Hikaru with sudden interest.

"Who?"

"She's a well-connected criminal lawyer from Tokyo. If she wanted to, she could erase the worst criminal's record," Haruhi said. "I've heard about her from law school."

Tamaki made no answer, choosing to glare at Hikaru, who looked away innocently.

"So, were you the one who hit the truck?" Hikaru asked.

"Forget about it. It's not important Hikaru," said Mori. He waved his left hand dismissively, signaling to his friend to stop it.

"Everything was a set-up," Tamaki said.

"Why do you say that?" asked Hikaru.

"It's very obvious," came a voice.

Everyone turned around. They looked at the man with a limp who was sitting in the back on a bench.

"How many times have you been in a line-up? Haven't you ever noticed that it's always you and four homeless people? Half the time, the police pay beggars ten dollars to stand there," finished Ohtori Kyouya. He straightened his glasses, and it gave off a glare.

"Who are you?" asked Hikaru.

"His name's Ohtori Kyouya. He's all right. Don't you guys know him?" asked Tamaki.

"If I'm not mistaken, I've seen you at County before, right?" asked Kyouya.

"Yeah. You were there for…fraud?" replied Tamaki.

Kyouya nodded. "I walked. It was suspended. I didn't think I'd see you here."

For once, there was a silence in the small cell.

Then Hikaru walked to the bars of the cell and looked out thoughtfully.

He turned around. "I say that we'll all been put out by this, and we need to redeem ourselves. Anyway Mori and I have heard about a pro-"

"Why don't you calm down?" interrupted Tamaki.

"Why do you care what he says?" asked Haruhi.

"Yeah, I'm the one talking here, and Fujioka-san seems to want to know. I know Mori's with me" - he gave a high-five to the silent man - "and what about you?" He asked Kyouya.

"I'm in."

"So, I'm going to give my proposition."

"Please, spare us all by keeping your mouth shut," Tamaki shot back.

"You're missing the point."

"No. _You're_ missing the point. I don't want to know what your 'proposition' is. I don't care; I don't even want to hear it. I don't ever want to have anything to do with any of you ever again." He paused, and then added. "I beg your pardon, but you can all go to hell."

Hikaru stared at him and finally turned around.

"Well, screw him."

Then, he gathered to where others were and whispered to them. "Listen I can't talk much about it here, but…"

_And that was how it all began. Four men and one woman, brought in on a trumped-up charge. But what the cops didn't know, and what I know now, is that these people would never bend over for anybody. They all possessed incredible self-determination, and would never stop for anybody. They lived for themselves, not for someone else. And most of all, they would never lie over, never bow down to anyone. It's quite impressive if you think about it._

_----------_

Please review! It would make this authoress very happy!


	3. Chapter 3

I'm so happy that you read my story, RandomFun. I also really like Kyouya, but his limp, or crippleness (is that a word?), is part of the story, and you'll understand it in the end. As for Kaoru, he comes in chapter 5.

I know that Hikaru and Kaoru have orange hair, but they aren't twins in the story, and I want to differentiate between them. Actually, Kaoru...arugh! I'm saying too much.

Also, to Jazyrha, you really made my day. I'm so glad that you actually liked my story. It makes me a lot more motivated. As for Tamaki, his character will probably be the most OOC. Think of him as a more tired and worn out, he was too hyper and energetic when he was younger. He has a pretty dark past in this story. Their ages are all messed up too. Tamaki would be the oldest, then Kyouya, Hikaru and Mori the same age, and Haruhi the youngest. Kaoru comes in later.

Thank you for reading. It makes me really happy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, by the way.

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Jounouchi Ayame was furious. She saw the horrible bruise on Tamaki's face that night. They were standing outside the police station. It was nine thirty, and it was cold.

"Please, I want to take pictures of your face. I'll have this in front of the grand jury by tomorrow."

"Ayame. Please forget about it."

Hikaru and Mori were standing at a nearby newspaper stand. Mori was reading a kendo magazine, but Hikaru was looking straight into Tamaki's eyes. Tamaki tried his best to ignore him.

Haruhi was walking across the street and she stopped at the stand. She began talking to Hikaru, and they were conversing and laughing. Like normal people. Normal; something he could never be.

"Come on, Tamaki, just let me take the picture," Ayame was saying.

"Forget about it. Anyway, what did the investors say?"

"Well, they said they wanted some more time to think…"

Ohtori Kyouya was standing at the top of the stairs that led to the subway. He, too, was waiting for Tamaki.

"Dammit."

"They said they just needed more time, Tamaki."

"Time for what? Ayame, don't you see? No matter how well you cover my tracks. No matter how clean my record is right now, they'll still find out. Tonight ruined it."

"Give me some credit. I got you this far, didn't I? If I take this to the grand jury…"

"No. It's all over. By next week, every investor in the city will be walking away from us. It's finished. I'm finished."

"Tamaki, don't give up on me now."

"It'll never stop. It won't."

Ayame hugged him; her face was buried in his chest. She was truly pained to see Tamaki giving up like that. He wasn't that kind of person. "I love you."

Tamaki was glancing at the others. All four were waiting for him, and he knew that.

"Did you hear me? I said I love you. Tamaki?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go back to my place tonight. Okay?"

He was still looking at the four people when he said "Okay."

----------

_The job that Hikaru had proposed needed five people. And five people meant Tamaki. It took a lot of convincing, but eventually Tamaki came through. _

Kyouya was standing outside of Ayame's apartment.

"What the hell are you doing here? How did you get the address?" asked Tamaki angrily.

"One of the detectives told me when I asked him. Actually, he seemed quite pleased to tell me."

"What do you want?"

They were standing in the hallway of the apartment now.

"Listen, I wanted to talk to you-"

"I did a favor by standing up for you last night, but that doesn't mean we're friends. I don't to see you ever again. I have other-"

"It's a job. It'll be worth three million yen. Maybe more."

Tamaki looked stunned for a moment, but quickly shook out of it.

"They sent me to offer you a cut. We could use a fifth person - a driver - that's all you would do." He looked around the apartment. "This is actually quite an exquisitely furnished apartment. This lawyer you're with must make a lot." He nodded appreciatively.

For some reason, this angered Tamaki a lot. He grabbed the other man and pushed him against the wall; a swift kick from Tamaki sent Kyouya falling. He dropped to his knees, crouching in pain.

Tamaki instantly regretted this move. Lately, his emotions were getting the better of him. "Christ, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. Are you okay?"

"Yeah…yeah. I'm okay. Just need to sit down." Kyouya hobbled to the stairs and sat on the bottom step.

"Are you sure? You're okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine." He was still in pain though; it was obvious.

Tamaki sat on the step next to Kyouya. "Look. I'm…I'm sorry. Sorry. So…what's this job about?"

After a few seconds of silence, Kyouya replied. He pushed his glasses up, which, thankfully, hadn't broken, and said, "We're going to hit the Taxi Service."

----------

Tamaki froze. A long pause ensued between the two men.

"Osaka's finest Taxi Service," Kyouya repeated.

"That's bull," said Tamaki, standing up. "They don't operate anymore."

"Hikaru has a friend in the 15th Prefecture. They're coming out for one job on Thursday. This is our only chance. It's for a guy who smuggles emeralds out of Africa. Hikaru and Mori have a fence set up to take the stuff."

"Who's the fence?"

"Some guy in Hokkaido. The name's Blackpaw."

"Never heard of him."

He tried to throw Kyouya out of the apartment. Strangely the crippled man possessed a large amount of strength. Kyouya fought his way back into the hallway.

"You have to come," he was saying.

"Why does it matter if I come or not?" Tamaki demanded.

"Well they don't know me. You do. If you go, they'll let me in too. I need this."

"Too bad."

"You can't say you don't need this. Is this your place?" When Kyouya saw that Tamaki could not answer the question, he continued. "Listen, you know that it's never going to stop. This way we can get them where it hurts and get paid at the same time. It's beneficial in any way you look at it. There are merits for all of us." He paused. "No matter how clean you get, the cops will never let you go."

Kyouya could see that Tamaki really was thinking about it. Weighing the pros and cons, and rechecking to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He waited patiently.

Finally, Tamaki asked, "How are they going to do it?"

"Well, Hikaru wants to go in shooting. I said no."

"What about Fujioka and Mori?"

"They're pretty fired up, too. They might do anything. But if we do it my way, there'll be no killing. But like I said, they won't let me in without you."

"Three million?"

"Maybe more."

"No killing?"

"Not if it's done my way."

"…No way." Tamaki chuckled slightly to himself.

Kyouya smiled at his companion, knowing that he had convinced him.

----------

_Osaka's finest Taxi Service was not your average taxi service. It was a ring of corrupt cops in the Prefecture's Police Department that ran a high-profit deal. They drove smugglers, drug dealers, people like that, all over the city. For a few hundred dollars an hour, you got your own police escort. They even had their own business cards._

A man in his fifties stepped out into the sunlight. He had just arrived at the Osaka International Airport. He wore a white suit and held a briefcase in his left hand. As he looked around, he saw a police cruiser waiting for him. He got in and it drove away.

_But over time, people started asking questions. So the police shut it down, or so they claimed. Internal Affairs have been waiting to catch them in the act ever since. _

_And that was how it started. Hikaru came with the job; Mori supplied the vans; Haruhi brought the hardware; I came up with the plan so that no one would get killed. And Tamaki? Tamaki put on the finishing touch - a 'screw you' from the five of us to the Osaka Police Department._

The police cruiser didn't notice the white van following it. Inside the car, the man with the briefcase gave a manila envelope to one of the cops. "Will this be enough?"

The cop looked inside, the officer next to him looked over. "This'll take you to Russia." he said. They both laughed.

When the cruiser reached a wide, abandoned street, a green minivan suddenly swerved in front to block the car.

"What the-"

"LOOK OUT!"

In the back, the white minivan had crashed into the cruiser. The three people in the car were cursing, and the man in the white suit was beginning to look nervous.

Then from both sides, two more minivans drove in, trapping the police cruiser.

From all four sides, guns came out, all aimed at the cops and the sweating man in the suit.

The attackers wore stockings over their heads, and the cops immediately gave up.

The driver from the white van in the back jumped out with lightening speed. Quickly, he jumped onto the roof of the cruiser. He held a gallon jug in one hand and a sledgehammer in the other. Wasting no time, he lifted his arms and let the sledgehammer fall on the window shield with a great thud.

Hikaru repeatedly slammed the hammer until it had completely smashed. Then he doubled over and pointed a shotgun at one of the cops. He face looked gruesome almost, since he was hanging upside down, and a stocking covered his face.

"Give me the stuff."

"Give it up! Give it up!" one cop said to the man in the suit.

Slowly, he handed the briefcase to the cop, who gave it Hikaru, who threw it to the minivan on the left. Mori caught it.

Tamaki was sitting at the wheel of the green minivan. A stocking, too, covered his face. However, underneath, he was beginning to perspire. Why was he doing this again?

"Now give me the money," Hikaru demanded.

The cops looked at each other.

"The money." Hikaru aimed the shot gun at the cop's head.

Reluctantly, one of the cops handed the manila envelope over.

Hikaru stuffed the envelope inside his jacket. He stood up, and uncorked the cap to the gallon jug. Then he poured the contents of the jug over the car. It was oil.

One of the cops looked mad. "Do you know who I am?" he demanded.

A hand reached through the broken window shield and snatched his badge off. "We do now," said Mori.

Still standing on the cruiser, Hikaru light a pack of matches and dropped it on the car. It was enveloped in flames, but the cops and the suited man easily managed to get out.

All four vans drove off.

The man was furious.

----------

_The press got Tamaki's call that day and was at the scene before the cops. They were taking pictures of the cops and the man. The two cops, Togoin Makoto and Tarumi Hayato, were indicted two days later. Soon enough, thirty cops, and later fifty, went down with them. I have to say, it was a beautiful sight to behold._

----------

"To Ohtori Kyouya: the man with the plan," Hikaru announced.

All five drank their cans of beer to commemorate the moment.

They were in a secluded garage. It was safe place for now. Hikaru, Mori, Haruhi, and Kyouya seemed closer now, but maybe that was because Kyouya had proved himself to them. They had accepted him into their circle. Only Tamaki sat away from them, as if the four were contagious.

Haruhi examined the emeralds that were sprawled on a table. "This is more that I thought."

"It's beautiful," said Hikaru.

"So when does the fence come?" she asked.

"You mean Blackpaw? He doesn't come here; I always go see him. It'll take a few days, and Mori and I will go."

"No," said Tamaki. He seemed more tired than the others, bu maybe that was because he was getting older. "We'll all go. We need to lay down low for a bit anyway."

"Fine." said Hikaru.

----------

Hikaru and Mori picked up Haruhi on their way to the airport. They found her sitting on the steps to her apartment, a pencil tucked in her ear, her eyes deep into a textbook.

"You never stop working do you?" Hikaru asked, sitting down next to her.

"My dream is to become a lawyer. How can I acheive that if I slack off?" she asked.

"True," he replied. "I once had a dream too."

"Really? What was that?"

Hikaru gave her a smile. "Aren't you supposed to work?"

She rolled her eyes back at him, and went back to reading.

"Just joking," he said. "When I was younger, I wanted to be a fashion designer."

"Oh?"

"No, really. But... in my case, being a fashion designer was only a dream. Nothing else."

Haruhi looked at the man sitting next to her. She felt just a bit morose for him, and she genuinely felt for him. She gave him a friendly pat on the back. "It's okay," she said.

He looked at her. "Thanks."

Mori stood guard over the two; in these days, you could never be too safe. He wore dark sunglasses, and checked the time habitually on his cell phone.

"We need to go," he said finally.

"Okay," said Hikaru, standing up. "Let's get this show on the road."

----------

Tamaki and Kyouya sat side by side on two adjacent sofa chairs. They were sitting in a waiting room of an attorney's office.

"We're going to miss the flight," Kyouya said, becoming impatient.

"We're fine," Tamaki replied.

"Don't do this to her. Send her a card or something."

"We're fine."

He stood up and walked through the door and saw that he was standing on a balcony overlooking a library. He looked down and saw Ayame sitting at a table with an old woman. They were going over paperwork.

"We're going to miss the plane."

Tamaki turned with a start. It was Kyouya.

"She'll understand," he said.

Just as Tamaki was about to turn, he noticed Ayame talking and laughing with the woman. A rush of guilt swarmed him, but before he could think twice, he turned around and walked away with Kyouya limping after him.

----------

Ayame looked up to the balcony. She had thought something, or someone, was there. But seeing nothing, she turned her attention back to the woman and her work.

----------

Wow, is it just me, or was there a HikaruHaruhi moment there? I dunno. FYI, there won't be any romance in this fic. I can't write that kind of stuff, it would be too mushy and corny. (I'm just not good at it.)

But I wrote the last two scenes to show that the group is becoming closer. Hikaru, Mori, and Haruhi. Kyouya and Tamaki. Hopefully later, all five will become closer. I think right now, they still think of each other as "colleagues", or something like that.

So please tell me how I did. Anything; just please review! Thank you. It makes me really happy!


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for your encouraging words as always, RandomFun. The emeralds are what they stole in that whole 'Taxi Service' job. Tamaki's past is kinda revealed in this chapter. It's...OOC, so I'm sorry.

Also, to Jazyrha, the point of the job was to get revenge against the police and get money in the meantime. They don't want to kill anyone (Kyouya's plan), but the whole fire on the car is to scare the people inside.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

----------

_Present time_

"That's so sad…" Takaoji Shirou was on the verge of tears. He could relate to the pain. Really, it was sad. "I'm sorry, I'm the weepy type." He apologized to the other two.

Renge wasn't as impressed. "Heartwarming. I'm so weepy." She looked at the police inspector with disdain.

Takaoji did not look at Renge after her remark. He stood up and left the office, leaving Kyouya and Renge behind.

"Unless you do not recall, Agent Houshakuji, I am telling you what happened after the line up. So there it is," said Kyouya.

"Come on, Ohtori. You expect me to believe that? You expect me to believe that he retired…for a woman? Lies. He was using her."

"He loved her, and that is the truth."

"The truth? Right. And I'm supposed to believe that hitting the Taxi Service wasn't his idea either, right?"

Kyouya nodded. "It was all Hikaru - and Mori."

Renge was sitting on the inspector's desk, scrutinizing Kyouya closely. She didn't want to believe him, and nor did she, but there was something about his story that didn't seem right.

"Sure, sure...," she said, pretending to think deeply. But then she looked up, and her expression was dubious. "Come on, Ohtori! Suoh was a cop for four years, who else would know about the Taxi Service?"

"Why do you keep trying to blame everything on Tamaki? It's not true. He knew what the Taxi Service was of course, but Ayame had him all turned around. I'm telling you everything."

"Well let me tell you, Ohtori. I know Suoh Tamaki. I've been investigating him for four years. The man I know is a cold-hearted beast - he can't even be considered a man! He was indicted on three charges of murder before he was kicked off the force; so don't sell me that story on how he became good. That's all lies."

"You're wrong." Kyouya's declaration was said so surely, that his personality seemed to change in front of Renge. He seemed more determined, not as dumb as before.

"Am I? Suoh was under indictment a total of seven times while he was on the force. Each time, witnesses either reversed their testimony or died before they could testify. That's not all. When he was finally sent to jail - he killed three prisoners."

Renge paused to look at Kyouya. He was impassive as if waiting for her to finish. She took a sip of coffee, deciding to take her time.

"I haven't gotten to the best part yet either. Did you know that Suoh was dead? I mean it. He died in a fire during an investigation of a witness who was going to testify against him. Two witnesses saw him enter one of his warehouses to check a gas leak. The moment he walked in, it blew up. It took all of Suoh Tamaki with it. Two months later, the two witnesses are dead."

----------

In the equipment room, Takaoji and the technician, Sonoda, looked at each other in shock.

Then they turned back to the speakers to keep listening.

"Six weeks ago, I get an anonymous phone call saying I can find Suoh with his lawyer at a restaurant eating lunch. Sure enough, there he is! Since he never profited from his alleged death, and because we pinned someone else for the murder, we had to let him go," Renge was saying.

----------

Back in the inspector's room, Renge had started to walk around in a circle. "Can you believe it? He was dead long enough for the murder rap to blow over, and then he had lunch." She laughed in a high pitch: o-ho-ho-ho-ho!

"I didn't know about that," Kyouya replied calmly. While Renge had been talking, he had seemed more interested in the bulletin board behind her. There was a lot of information there...

"I'm sure you didn't," she continued. "You say you saw Suoh die. But I think you're just covering for him, and Suoh is somewhere out there. I bet he was behind everything that went on in that harbor. I bet he's just using you because you're a dumb cripple, and you think you're friends with him. Okay, so be it. I just want to make sure he's dead before I go back to Tokyo."

It was beginning to be a bit uncomfortable for Kyouya. He frowned a bit, deciding whether to tell another side to the story; all the while, he looked at the board. Then he decided to.

"It was the lawyer! It wasn't Tamaki," he blurted out.

"What?"

There was a pause. An awkward pause at that too.

"What lawyer Ohtori?"

Kyouya looked around, trying to find some way out of this situation. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea… "I remember there was a time when I was in that classical music quartet in Kyoto. I played the--"

Renge grabbed his shirt. "You think I don't know you held out on the D.A.? What did you leave out on that testimony?" She nearly yanked him out of his seat.

"The D.A. gave me immunity," Kyouya replied.

"Not from me, you piece of shit! You don't get anything from me! You work with me here or the world you live in will become hell!" She let go of his shirt.

He fell back into his seat and sat there rather demurely, placing his hands in his lap. He looked up at Renge with quiet dignity. She gave a small 'humph!' and continued.

"Every criminal I have put in jail, every cop that owes me a favor, every scumbag that walks on the streets, will know the name of Ohtori Kyouya. You'll be the lowest sort of human being, if you can call it a human being. Talk to me, or that oh-so-coveted immunity they've seen so fit to grant you won't be worth the paper the contract put out on your life is printed on," she said.

With a look of contempt, Kyouya grumbled, "There was a lawyer. Yamamoto."

"Did he kill Suoh?"

"No. But I'm sure Tamaki's dead."

She looked into his onyx eyes. "Convince me. Tell me every last detail…"

----------

In the hospital, the Chinese gang member, Chou Jing-Chi, had regained his speech.

"What happened in the pier?" Hunny asked slowly.

"We were there to…buy…m-ma…" he couldn't talk anymore.

"We know that," Hunny interupted. He translated to Kasanoda, who nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, they were buying dope. We know that," he said.

"Okay, we want to know what this 'Kumori Wang' looks like," said Hunny. "It's okay, take your time; you don't want to overexert yourself."

After a deep breath, the gangster spoke. "H-he…ha-has..."

----------

_Hikaru's fence was a man known as Blackpaw. He had a pretty good reputation around Hokkaido. Seemed like a good guy except for the fact that he wore a black cloak. It covered his face, so I don't know what it looked like. He also carried around a__ cat-puppet doll call__ed Beelzenef. Other than that, he was pretty normal._

It was late at night in a deserted park. All five stood together in a group. A few moments later, a car drove out to where they were standing. A man, the driver, came out and ran to the other side to open the passenger door. A tall, cloaked man walked out.

He bowed to Hikaru, who returned the bow.

"How have you been?" Hikaru asked.

"Very well. Beelzenef has given me a sign that good will soon come. How are you, Mori?"

The tall man grunted.

"So do you have it?" Blackpaw asked.

Hikaru showed the briefcase. The man next to Blackpaw showed a briefcase, too.

"We've worked together long enough to trust each other, right?" Blackpaw asked, meaning that they didn't have to open the briefcases to look inside.

"Of course," Hikaru replied.

They exchanged it, and Hikaru handed the case to Haruhi.

She looked inside, and it was full of neat stacks of money. "It's good."

Then Blackpaw noticed a blond man standing nearby. "You must be Suoh Tamaki."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I totally forgot about the introductions." Hikaru hastily said. "This is Suoh Tamaki. That's Fujioka Haruhi. And that's Ohtori Kyouya."

"The man with the plan, right?" Blackpaw gave an eerie smile.

Kyouya nodded and smiled back politely.

"Are you guys interested in some more work?" Blackpaw asked.

Hikaru was about to answer, but Tamaki cut him off. "We're on vacation."

"I've got a lot of work and no good people." Blackpaw gave a sigh. "I don't have anyone like you guys. It'd really help."

"What's the job?" Hikaru asked.

Ignoring the foul look Tamaki was giving Hikaru, Blackpaw continued. "A jeweler out of Tokyo. The name's Soga Kazukiyo. He rents a suite at a hotel downtown. He does free appraisals and buys it if he likes it. Word is that he carries around a lot of cash. I figure, you'll keep the money and I'll keep the merchandise."

"How's the security?" Haruhi asked.

"Two bodyguards. Nothing you couldn't handle."

"Give us time to check it out?" Hikaru said.

"I'd expect nothing less," replied Blackpaw.

"We'll call you."

"Take your time. Hokkaido's nice at this time of year."

"Yeah. Thanks."

With his bodyguard, Blackpaw went back into the car, and it drove off into the dark night.

They stood there. Haruhi was holding the briefcase. Though it was late, it was summer, and there was nothing more than a small breeze. The park that they stood in was supposedly very beautiful during the day; however, the critics had apparently never been there at night. Somehow, it gave off an eerie aura, and this was one place where Haruhi did not want to be when there was a thunderstorm.

It was a peaceful night, she thought, a perfect night for studying. However, that perfect night was soon shattered when Tamaki turned onto Hikaru.

"What was that for? The deal was one job." He practically spat in Hikaru's face, so great was his anger.

"It's never bad, is it?" was all Tamaki heard in reply.

Then he heard laughter, Hikaru's laugh, and he heard it getting farther and farther away. Tamaki heard footsteps following. _Probably Mori and Fujioka._

"Tamaki?" he heard Kyouya say, and then his footsteps, too, faded away.

He stood there for a moment, taking in the silence. _I'm sorry Ayame..._

Tamaki, the last person there, swore, and finally he stomped his way out, into the shadows. Into the night.

----------

"I don't see the problem with doing another job. It's good for all of us, right? Right?" Hikaru asked.

They were all in a rented room in a building. It was late at night, and they were probably one of the few who were still awake.

"Personally, I agree with Hikaru, too." Haruhi was sitting at a desk, reading a textbook and listening to the conversation at the same time.

Mori grunted with his agreement.

"I don't like this. Not one bit. We're supposed to lay low. This is a vacation. What happens if something goes wrong? Are we going to go through another freaking line-up?" Tamaki had taken off his jacket. His face was flushing with anger.

"This is good for all of us. Just one more! It isn't going to kill us! It's just a jeweler with two bodyguards!" Hikaru yelled back.

"No. I'm not doing this!"

"Well we are! Whether you like it or not!"

Kyouya was sitting to the side, nursing his crippled leg. In times like this, he had decided that it was best to sit back and let them at it. He had learned that rather quickly.

"We ARE going to do this!"

"No! We are going to lay low! No more jobs!"

"It ain't gonna kill us!"

"How do YOU know?"

On and on; it went like this.

Haruhi covered her ears and tried to concentrate on her law book. It looked like it was going to be a very long night.

----------

_In the end, Hikaru won. His endless nagging had finally defeated Tamaki, who looked like he was going to have a heart attack at any moment__. The next day, we were on another job._

A lean man of average height walked out the elevator followed by his two bodyguards. They were in the parking garage of an office building. The man, Soga Kazukiyo, was carrying a large aluminum briefcase. They walked past a silver Honda with its hood up. They had no way of knowing that Hikaru was hiding behind it, having hacked the hood open with a slim-jim.

Further away, a white van was waiting for its signal. Inside, Kyouya was at the wheel, with Tamaki beside him. In the back, Haruhi sat next to Mori.

The bodyguards finally noticed Hikaru behind the hood. One kept his eye on the brown-haired man, and the other watched Soga. Hikaru was pretending to fix the car's engine. He had hidden a pistol inside the grill, and kept it within reach.

At that moment, the white van drove out towards Soga and his bodyguards. It cruised over in the direction of the Mercedes car the three men were standing next to.

The guards were getting confused. Too many things were going on, and a logical mind was not part of the job description. From behind the van, they heard footsteps. They turned around.

Haruhi and Mori were dressed in sunglasses and fake mustaches, and wearing long sport coats, decades out of trend. Haruhi was squirming from the mustache, and her height contrast with the lanky Mori was almost comical.

"Get in the car, Soga-san," said one of the bodyguards, beckoning towards the Mercedes.

Behind the hood, Hikaru put on a black ski mask.

"Ah, so Mori, I was reading about this case in my law book, and it was so strange," Haruhi was saying.

"Really?"

"Yeah. This person was suing because her cat was stuck in a tree and she claimed that the experience had traumatized her and her cat…"

"Wow."

Seeing the two people closer, the bodyguards relaxed a little. They looked a bit drunk, but it was all part of the act.

The white van was approaching closer and closer.

"So, in the courtroom, the judge asks to--"

The guards were trying to understand the situation. At least Soga-san was safely in the car. He was beginning to back out of the parking spot.

"--so it was. And the lady says, 'My cat--"

Suddenly, the white van swerved in and screeched to a halt to block Soga's car. The Mercedes was confined to its parking spot.

Haruhi and Mori stopped the act. They both pulled out guns and aimed it at the guards.

"DON'T MOVE!" Haruhi said.

"Freeze," said Mori.

The guards immediately threw their hands up in the air. Haruhi and Mori grabbed them and reached into their belts to take their guns.

Tamaki, also wearing a black ski mask, jumped out of the van. He ran to the Mercedes. He yanked on the car handle, but it was locked.

Behind the door, Soga was in terror. He was trying to convince himself that this was all a dream. A very bad dream. Just a dream. But when he saw Tamaki take out his pistol and use it to smash open the window, he realized that it was _not_ a dream. It was reality.

_Oh god..._

"Give me the case," Tamaki said, very surely, very suavely.

Soga reached for his case, and Tamaki aimed his pistol at his head. But Soga had reached for a gun and pointed at Tamaki. Since he had faster reflexes, Tamaki managed to sidestepp out of the way and he yanked the gun away. However, a shot went off and it hit the fender of the nearby silver Honda.

Looking surprised, Haruhi and Mori looked up from the sound of the gun. The plan was that there would be no killing.

The guards, temporarily free, saw their chance. One guard grabbed Haruhi, and the other grabbed Mori. The three men and one woman began fighting for the control over the guns.

Mori's gun, meanwhile, had fallen to the ground. Hikaru picked it up and now held one gun in each hand. He tried aiming it at the bodyguards, but all four were struggling, and Mori and Haruhi constantly fell in line with his aim.

He didn't want to shoot one of his comrades.

What to do…

They were struggling in front of the van. Kyouya had come out to help.

BANG!

Two bodies fell. The bodyguards were dead, a bullet in each head.

Hikaru gave a sigh. That was close.

----------

Tamaki was still aiming the gun at Soga's head.

"Give. Me. The. Case."

Soga was still holding onto the case. For some reason, he didn't want to give it up. He was terrified out of his wits, but he held firm.

Tamaki didn't want to kill the man. He kept trying to force the man to give him the case.

Sweat was beginning to form on his forehead, from the situation and from the back ski mask.

"Give me the case." It was the only sound heard in the garage. The others were standing nearby, Hikaru was helping Haruhi up.

But then a shot was heard.

Tamaki noticed that there was a bullet hole on Soga's forehead. He turned around.

"What the-"

Kyouya was holding a gun, his hands slightly shaking.

Tamaki shook himself, and reached inside the car over Soga's body for the briefcase. Both he and Kyouya began running for the van.

"What just happened?" asked Haruhi, shocked.

"Bad day. Screw it," answered Hikaru.

The elevator light came on. All five saw it.

"Hurry! We gotta get out of here!" said Tamaki.

They piled into the van and hastily drove away, with Kyouya at the wheel.

----------

Once safely away, the van stopped to a halt. They were all grim: the job had gone completely wrong. Three people had been killed.

Tamaki opened the briefcase. The contents caught him off guard. First he was shocked, then anger.

"Dammit," was all he could say.

Haruhi looked over. She, too, was shocked. One by one, they all looked inside. None of them could believe it.

Inside the case, a small pile of cash filled one side. On the other side, there were several clear, plastic bags with white powder in it.

And that was it.

Nobody could answer Haruhi's question: "Where are the jewels?"

----------

Please review!

Just a note: the white powder at the end of the chapter are drugs.

Also a question, what makes a fic rated M? I have a feeling that this fic will get worse later.


	5. Chapter 5

RandomFun- I've decided to go with your suggestion, it'd be better to change the rating to M. It's not going to be pretty later on, meaning the next chapter.

Hunny comes in this chapter. As for Jazyrha, Hunny is kinda like Renge in that he works for the government. Kinda like the Japanese version of FBI, I guess.

To clear things up about Tamaki. He is an ex-cop because he was kicked off the police force. He doesn't have a good history as a cop because he has supposedly killed many people, but it seems like Ayame has turned him around. Whether he really is good or not - you'll have to decide for yourself. Personally, I like Tamaki as a character, I think he's interesting, so I'm willing to forgive him. hahaha.

Also, if you're confused about this story, don't feel bad. This is the kind of story where I decide to reveal everything in the last chapter. Actually this chapter was a lot shorter originally but I added more detail to it. Hopefully it made the story more interesting. Thank you for reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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That night, the five drove to the darkened park. They were going to meet Blackpaw again, but this time, the atmosphere was definitely sour.

The car ride had been relatively quiet, each person pondering over the meaning of the items they had found.

Some drugs and a stack of money. What had happened to the jewels?

With Kyouya at the wheel, the white minivan had cruised through the streets; the streetlights were already beginning to fade. It was ten thirty at night.

The car screeched to a halt at the park, and they all piled out, Haruhi carrying the briefcase, and Hikaru holding a small bag.

The bag contained parts to a pistol.

Hikaru assembled the gun and loaded it, while the others stood nearby in the dark parking lot.

"What are you doing?" asked Tamaki.

"What do you think? I'm going to kill that bastard," he replied in an even tone.

"We did it your way. Now we're going to do it mine."

"Are _you_ going to kill him?"

"I'm going to deal with him."

Blackpaw's car had arrived in the parking lot. His bodyguard, openly carrying a rifle, came out with him.

Angrily, Hikaru threw the briefcase at him.

"What the hell is this?"

The cloaked man caught it. "It's got nothing to do with me. I don't know."

"How the hell could you not know?! You're the one who gave us--" Hikaru was cut off.

"You don't know," Tamaki interrupted, stepping out in front of Hikaru. It was a statement, not a question.

"Look. A lawyer gave this job to me. It's got nothing to do with me."

"A lawyer?" asked Haruhi with interest.

In the background, Mori was physically restraining Hikaru, who wanted to beat the crap out of Blackpaw.

"Some middle-man. He works for his client. He doesn't say and I don't ask." Blackpaw shrugged.

"We want to meet him," said Tamaki.

"About that. Actually, he said he wanted to meet you. He called me last night and asked me to set it up. What do you want me to tell him?"

"Tell him we'll meet him," said Tamaki.

"If you're lying about this, Blackpaw…" Hikaru threatened, struggling to get away.

"Jesus Christ, Hikaru. No need to get this mad. What are you, some caged animal trying to get me? Trust me on this tip, will ya?"

Hikaru broke away from Mori and lunged towards Blackpaw. Thankfully, Kyouya managed grabbed him in time.

From the car, three rifles suddenly appeared. Mori and Haruhi aimed pistols at Blackpaw's bodyguard and at the car. In the meantime, Blackpaw had stepped back into his car, smiling defiantly.

"Too bad about that Soga getting killed. The police, I'm sure, will try to find the murderer, and eventually, they'll ask me…" The engine roared, and the car drove off.

Hikaru stared after the fading car.

"Damn you." He spat on the ground.

----------

_Present time_

"So this lawyer…" Renge started.

"Yamamoto," said Kyouya, folding his hands

"…came from Blackpaw," she finished.

"Right."

"Why did you leave this out when you talked to the D.A.?" asked Renge.

At the sound of a knock, she looked up. Takaoji came in. "Someone to see you, Renge-san."

When Renge walked out, she immediately recognized the man.

"Haninozuka-san. What are you doing here?"

"I've been looking all over for you, Renge-chan. Are you still looking for that coke that walked out of that blood bath in that harbor?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, you can stop looking for it. There was no coke. I was just talking to a man in the county hospital. He was pulled out of the water, half-dead. He came to this morning, and started talking. He's from a Chinese gang, and they were doing a deal with a Japanese gang. He says it was definitely not a dope deal."

"But the ninety-one mil-"

"I know, Renge-chan, but the man says no way on the dope. It was something else. The gangster says they were going to head to Indonesia the next day. They didn't have the time to negotiate that kind of product nor the means to move it."

"So what was the money for?"

"He didn't know. Only the top people knew, and they were very quiet about it. But in any case, it must have been a very sensitive topic."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Well, they tell me that you have the cripple from Osaka in there." Hunny motioned towards Takaoji's office. "Did he ever mention a Kumori Wang?"

"What?"

Hunny gave a small sigh, and he looked up at her. "Please bear with me, Renge-chan…"

----------

BOOM!

Kyouya turned around his head sharply. Renge had slammed open the door in a fury.

"Who is Kumori Wang!" she demanded.

He looked at her as if in shock; his hand trembled from the mere sound of the name. Then his face turned dark. "Dammit."

----------

They had gathered in the same rented office building. It was late at night, and they were probably one of the few people to still be awake.

Tamaki sat in an armchair to the side, like always. Even now, he didn't like to be too close to the others. He was still a bit wary from the last job. Kyouya, too, sat in an armchair. Both of them did not talk much, and they could have resembled silent statues.

A pool table had been "borrowed", and it sat prominently in the middle of the room. Hikaru was venting his anger on it. The cue ball kept missing its mark, and it was helplessly hitting the corners. He kept sighing as if impatient. As expected, he was still upset about the Blackpaw affair. Mori, his tall stature almost towering over Hikaru, stood nearby to make sure his friend did not destroy anything.

Haruhi had a pencil tucked behind her ear. She sat at her desk, papers and books strewn across messily. This time, she had been too tired to be organized. There was some paperwork she needed to fill out, and of course, there was always a large amount of studying that needed to be done.

Finally, Hikaru broke the silence of the room. "What should we do now, huh?" He dropped the pool stick on the ground, and its echo repeatedly rang in his ear, an unending chasm of doom. He placed his hands on the table and leaned on it, his head between his shoulders. He kept repeating, "What do we do now? What do we do now?"

Tamaki gave a sigh and stood up from his seat, and walked towards the pool table. "Well, we've agreed to see this lawyer, so we'll meet him, and then just see where that leads us." He looked at Hikaru, who was still greatly depressed.

"That is precisely correct, Suoh-san."

Hearing a new voice echo off the wall, the group looked around. At the entrance, a man emerged from the shadows. He was of average height, slim, and wearing a black suit. The first thing they noticed about him was his cat-like eyes, as if it were ready to pounce on anything. His hair, a light brown, was slightly parted to the left. In his right hand, he carried a brown briefcase.

"Who the hell are you?" Hikaru demanded.

"I am," said the man, giving a slight bow, "Yamamoto."

He ignored the gasps of the group and continued. "I have been asked by my employer to come to you with a proposition. You must be Fujioka Haruhi-san. I recognize Hitachiin Hikaru-san from his mug shot, as I recognize Morinozuka Takashi-san." He looked towards Kyouya. "And I can only assume that you are Ohtori Kyouya-san, the man who disposed of Soga Kazukiyo. My employer sends his gratitude, as it has been an unexpected benefit." He gave a slight nod of the head towards Kyouya.

No one knew what to say. They hadn't expected to meet the lawyer right now, much less expect him to meet here. They were surprised that this Yamamoto would know all of their names.

Tamaki was the one who recovered first. "Is there anything we can do for you?" he said politely.

"My employer requires your services." Yamamoto was straight to the point. "One job. One day's work. It is very dangerous, and I do not expect you all to live. But for those who do live, there will be ninety-one million yen for them to divide as they see fit."

"Ninety-one million..." mumbled Haruhi before looking back down at her work. "These rich..."

"Whom do you work for?" Tamaki asked, suspiciously. "Blackpaw didn't know."

"My employer wishes to remain anonymous. And yes, Blackpaw did not know."

"Don't give me that kind of answer. I refuse to work for someone I don't know. So who's your boss?" Tamaki asked again.

Yamamoto took a deep breath, as if deciding whether to reveal this truth or not. He gave Tamaki a deep look that said, are you sure you want to know? Then he turned to the others and said, "I work for Kumori Wang."

----------

A combination of skepticism, surprise, and mockery crossed Tamaki's face. Then he slammed his hands on the pool table and exclaimed, "There is no Kumori Wang!" However, his proclaim seemed to the serve the purpose of reassuring himself rather than accusing Yamamoto. His hands shook, just barely, and his usually bright blue eyes wavered.

Hikaru, Mori, and Haruhi shared similar looks, but they said nothing, only looking down.

But there was someone who did not know what was going on.

"I believe I am a bit ignorant in this conversation. So I ask, who is Kumori Wang?" Kyouya asked. It wasn't often that he didn't know something, but this was rare occurrence was ignored by the others.

"Judging by the looks of your companions' faces," Yamamoto replied, "I am sure they will be able to tell you." He looked at the other four. "You have probably heard many tall tales, myths, and the like, about Kumori Wang. I can assure you that most are true, contrary to what Suoh-san says."

"Who's Kumori Wang?" Kyouya asked again.

Yamamoto ignored him. "I have come an offer directly from Kumori Wang. An order, actually."

"An order?" Tamaki asked, incredulous.

"In 1994, Suoh-san, you participated in the hijacking of a truck in the Osaka Prefecture. The cargo was raw steel. This steel belonged to my employer, and it was set for Pakistan to be used in a nuclear reactor. It was obviously a violation of U.N. regulations, but you had no way of knowing, because the man shipping this steel was working for Kumori Wang without his knowledge."

Tamaki was dazed. Why would thisman know that?

"Hitachiin-san and Morinozuka-san, earlier this year you both hijacked a twin-prop cargo flight out of Tokyo International Airport. The plane was carrying gold wiring and platinum. Again, it was headed for Pakistan. However, you had no way of knowing this."

Yamamoto pointed at Haruhi. "Fujioka-san. Two months ago, Fujioka-san stole a truck carrying gun parts through Osaka-"

The others immediately turned to Haruhi, realizing that she was the one who had robbed the truck for which they were arrested in the first place. She gave a weak smile.

"--guns that were supposed to be destroyed by the Prefecture of Osaka. They were supposed to be "lost" in a weighing station, and then sent to North Korea. Again, my employer using pawns who did not know." Yamamoto turned to Kyouya. "Which brings us to Ohtori-san."

Kyouya opened his eyes in surprise.

"Eight months ago, one of my employer's less than intelligent couriers was taken in a complicated scam," he said while looking right at Kyouya, "by a cripple. He was relieved of seventy thousand yen."

Then he looked back at the group. "Now, it has taken us a while to find you. Our initial plan was to approach you after your apprehension in Osaka."

"You set up the line up," Tamaki said.

"My employer has connections and he made a few calls, yes. That I cannot deny. You were not to be released until I had seen you. However, Suoh-san's attorney, Jounouchi Ayame-san, was quite efficient in…expediting his release. Holding the rest of you was a much more simple task."

"Are you sure about Blackpaw?" Hikaru asked.

"Yes, that is true. Blackpaw did not know anything. My employer rarely works with the same people for long, and they never know whom they are working for. One cannot be betrayed if one has no people." Yamamoto said this as if it were the most obvious truth in the world.

"Why tell us?" Mori said, his first words in the conversation.

"Because you have stolen from my employer, Morinozuka-san. That you did not know that you stole is the sole reason why you are alive. However, he feels you owe him, and with no doubt, you will repay your debt."

"Who is this guy, and how do we know that you work for him?" Haruhi asked.

"I do not believe that that is relevant, Fujioka-san because nonetheless, the five of you are responsible for the murder of Soga Kazukiyo and his bodyguards. Blackpaw can testify against you, and we will make sure he does."

"This is shit," Hikaru said.

"I will explain the offer to you, gentlemen. As I'm sure you all know, my employer's chief business is narcotics. He has been competing, shall we say, with a group of Japanese. And competing with Kumori Wang has taken its toll. That is inevitable as my employer's strength is powerful and far-reaching. Therefore, these Japanese are negotiating the sale of ninety-one million yen's worth of cocaine.

Quite obviously, this purchase will revive their organization. My employer wants you to stop the deal. Whatever your decision may be, you may choose to wait until the buy or go before then. The transaction will take place on a boat in Tokyo. My employer wants you to get onto the boat and destroy the cocaine. Then, you will be free of your obligation to Kumori Wang," Yamamoto finished.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," Tamaki said.

Yamamoto smiled, almost as if he expected this. He placed the brown briefcase on the pool table. "A gift from Kumori Wang."

Then he turned around, and walked out of the room.

----------

Tamaki walked towards the briefcase and slowly opened it to make sure it wasn't booby-trapped.

He reached in and found five manila envelopes. On each envelope, in bold Sharpie letters were the names of each person. Hitachiin. Morinozuka. Fujioka. Suoh. Ohtori.

Underneath the files was a map. Tamaki handed out each file to its respective person. He opened his first. "Jesus Christ. Open them," he said.

"They…they know everything," Haruhi mumbled as se looked through hers. She found her old records from school, old report cards, graduation diplomas, pictures. Even her family's information was there, the wedding license of her parents, her birth certificate, everything. Everything...

"They have everything I've done since I was eighteen," Hikaru said, slumping into an armchair. He combed his fingers through his hair, and took a deep breath. There were mug shots, criminal records, all the information that would have been under the name of 'Hitachiin Hikaru.'

"Everybody I worked with, and everyone I did time with," Mori said. Inside his files, he saw his old kendo competitions, his family member's history, and even the grades of his younger brother from high school.

"How they know all of this?" Haruhi asked.

Tamaki pulled out a large black and white picture of Ayame and himself arm in arm in a café in Osaka. The next picture showed him kissing her on the cheek. He hastily hid the pictures; the last thing he wanted was to let the others see. "This isn't right. It's a complete violation of our rights."

"Yes ac- no, wait," said Haruhi. "Wasn't there a guy back home who always talked about Kumori Wang?"

"Yeah. I just don't remember the name right now," replied Hikaru. "I just remember that the guy was always talking about doing jobs for him. Indirect stuff. He always got five times more money than the job was worth."

"Come on. This is all just a fairy tale. Yamamoto's just using his name," Tamaki argued.

"I don't know, but this is bad," Hikaru said.

"Agreed," Mori said.

"This is all fake. It could be a setup by the police," Haruhi said, but it was a blind hope.

"No, I don't think so. From what I've heard, Kumori Wang is some sort of butcher. No pity at all," Hikaru said.

"Look. There is no Kumori Wang!" Tamaki said.

Kyouya was still flipping through the file. It contained detailed records of all of his crimes. There was a portfolio of his personal life. It had everything. For a moment, he thought that these people knew more about him than himself.

Then he looked up at Tamaki and asked for the third time, "Who is Kumori Wang?"

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Who is 'Yamamoto?' Hopefully it's obvious. Please tell me how I did or if I didn't explain something properly. I'll try my best to answer your questions.

Please review, anything is fine.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay...WARNING for this chapter: freaky story and...character death(s)...

I can't believe I killed people off...I'm sorry...

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_Present time_

Renge was leaner closer and closer to Kyouya. Despite his signals to her to tell her to move back, she completely ignored him. She wanted to hear every last word.

"So tell me, who is Kumori Wang?" she asked, toying with him.

_The hell with it_. Kyouya placed his coffee mug on the table. Then he looked back at Renge and began the story of Kumori Wang.

"He's supposed to be Japanese, though some say his father was Chinese. Nobody knows if he's even real or not because no one has seen him before or known anyone who works directly for him. From the way Yamamoto told it, anyone could have worked for him - you never knew. That was his power." He paused. "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist."

Kyouya held up his left hand and it visibly shook. "That was his power," he repeated.

Then he continued. "But one story the guys told me - and one that I believe - is from his days in China.

There was a small Chinese gang who wanted their own mob. They realized that you didn't need guns or money or even large numbers. They learned that all you needed was the will to do what the other wouldn't. And after a while, they came into power, and they went after Wang. He was small back then, running some dope, they say.

So they come to his home in the afternoon looking for him. He isn't there, but his wife and kids are. The family is taken hostage and three Chinese gang members wait for him.

Wang comes home to find his wife badly beaten and his children held at gunpoint.

The youngest child, a son, has a razor held to his neck. Now, the Chinese know that Wang is tough, not to be underestimated. So they let him know they mean business.

They kill his son. One Chinese grabs another one of his children, a daughter. Then they tell Wang that they want all of his territory, all of his business. Wang looks over at the faces of his family…and then he shows the Chinese what will really was."

Renge didn't like to have people see her emotions. Usually, she tried to keep it as impassive as she could. But hearing this story brought a gasp of horror.

"Go on," she urged.

"He takes out a pistol and fires at the two Chinese with guns. They die. Then he aims at the third Chinese with his daughter. He shoots. The Chinese looks down in terror and sees that Wang has killed his daughter.

One by one, he shoots his entire family dead in front of the stunned Chinese. The Chinese, or at least most of them, believe in Confucianism. In Confucianism, people believe in good deeds and morality. Most important of all is being good and respectful to your family. Killing your own family then, was disgraceful, horrible, and outrageous.

Actually, that's downright horrible, no matter what culture you live in.

Wang lets the last Chinese go to let him warn the others. Then he waits until his family is safely in the ground before going after the rest of the gang. He kills their children, their wives, their parents, and their parents' friends.

He burns down the homes that they live in, the stores they work in. He kills the people who owe them money. He destroys villages, an entire city of lives. No, probably even more than that.

And then, just like that, he's gone." Kyouya kissed his fingertips. "Underground. No one has seen him ever since. He becomes a myth. There's tall tales, fairy tales about him. It's a spook story criminals tell their children at night. No one ever really believes though."

"Do you believe in him?" Renge asked Kyouya.

"Tamaki always said: 'I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him.' Well, I believe in God, but the only thing that would scare me is Kumori Wang."

----------

Takaoji and Hunny were listening to the conversation in the equipment room. Although these two men were tough, this story had broken them down. The tears flowed freely, and Hunny had a longing for his Usa-chan.

"What do you think of this, Agent Haninozuka?" Takaoji asked.

"I can introduce you to Kasanoda Ritsu from Justice. Pursuing Kumori Wang has been a hobby of his for a few years now." Hunny wiped away his tears.

"Have you heard of him before?"

"On the street you hear it now and then. Someone working for someone working for someone who got his money through Kumori Wang. Stuff like that."

"Oh."

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"I was clean when you police found me on the boat. I told it like it happened. So what if I left out how I got there? It has so many holes in it in the first place. But now you got what you wanted. Good for you," Kyouya was saying to Renge.

"And this is why you never told the D.A.?"

"Agent Houshakuji, I ask you - please tell _me_. If I told you the Loch Ness Monster hired me to hit the harbor, what would you say?"

"Turn state's evidence. Take it to court and see what happens."

"Well, I've got immunity now. What do you have to offer me?"

"If there truly is a Kumori Wang, he'll be after you."

"What are you saying? Kumori Wang - or whatever you want to call him - already knows everything. He knows where I am right now, just so he can scoop me up ten minutes later. I'll have to deal with a whole new set of problems when I post bail."

"But why play into his hands? We can protect you."

Kyouya gave Renge the most sarcastic look he could muster. "Oh, and I suppose I should be thanking you now. The same people who get me into this trouble now want to help me. You really think you can catch Kumori Wang? You think a guy who gets this close to getting caught will stick his stick out again? You should think again. My guess is that you'll never hear from him again. If he comes out, it'll be to get rid of me."

Kyouya leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs. "Trust me."

----------

A man and his son were out on the beach near Tokyo Bay. The man was sitting on the sand; he was smoking a cigarette and watching his boy play in the water. Suddenly he heard his son yell out. The man ran. He gasped.

Lying in the salty water next to his son was a dead body.

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"…and that was how I ending up in that classical music quartet," Kyouya finished.

"Ohtori, that was completely irrelevant," Renge groaned. "I don't need to know that."

"No, it has to do with everything. I got nailed for some fraud when I was with that quartet, so I ran off to Osaka. If I hadn't gone there I would never have met Tamaki."

"This is getting out of topic. Let's get back to Yamamoto."

Kyouya, frowning a bit, took a deep breath. He had wanted to stall a little more time.

"Well, the next day, we woke up and saw that Mori was gone. He couldn't stand the idea of bowing down to work for Kumori Wong. He had left us a note wishing us good luck and took a portion of the money we had earned.

"Then what?"

"Hikaru was furious, of course. They had been partners for five years, if I'm not mistaken. He talked about finding Mori and beating him to pieces, but he always says that kind of stuff. That night we got the call."

"The call?"

He nodded gravely. "Yamamoto told us where we could find Mori."

----------

"What do you want to do?" Tamaki asked.

They were standing in a darkened cave next to the coast. It was late at night, and the waves ever so lightly brushed against the cove. Hikaru was kneeling on the ground, trying very hard to keep his face straight, but everyone else knew otherwise. Haruhi and Kyouya stood closely behind him.

On the ground, lay Mori's body. He had been showered with a pelt of bullets, his handsome dark face had become nearly unrecognizable. Hikaru was near tears; only through sheer will had he been able to close his dead friend's eyes.

"I worked for years with Mori. He was my friend. We did more jobs, made more money than you can ever count," he said amidst sobs. He had broken down.

"I'm sorry," said Tamaki, sincerely.

"I'm sure you are."

"No, I truly am deeply sorry for your loss. We all are."

Hikaru looked up with sudden determination; his eyes were still red. "I want to bury him."

" Unfortunately, we don't have time, nor do we have the means to bury him," said Tamaki. "We need to get going, lest one of us gets killed too."

"No." Hikaru's voice was firm. "You will have time. And we will use our hands."

"Even if we do that, the people who come to this beach will smell the body. It'll be found," Tamaki said.

"No!" Hikaru shot back. Furious, he began digging up sand. Sand flew everywhere, and Hikaru didn't care. "We were partners! He was my friend! My friend! The only one…the only…true friend that I ever had!"

His tears mixed in with the sand, but he didn't care. The others stood nearby - no one was quite sure as to what to do.

"My friend…my best…Mori…"

Then silently, Haruhi dropped down onto her knees next to Hikaru. "Yes, we should bury him," she agreed quietly. "We need to bury him…and finish that job."

Side by side, the two scooped up the sand with their bare hands. "Thank you…Haruhi," Hikaru mumbled.

She looked at him. "It's the least I could do."

Kyouya kneeled down and he too, began to dig the grave. Hikaru and Haruhi looked at him with silent thanks.

Tamaki was still standing, still stubborn. _This isn't my son, why should I bury him?_ But deep down, he knew what Mori's death signified. Do this job, or end up like Morinozuka-san; Tamaki could perfectly imagine Yamamoto saying that.

_But…I'm going to do this for myself, not for him…_ It was a deep internal conflict for Tamaki, deciding whether or not to go with the others.

Then he remembered Kyouya's words. _No matter who clean you get, the cops will never let you go. There's no way out._

_But if this is the last thing I do._ Silently, Tamaki cursed the lawyer. He made his decision.

Tamaki got down and he began digging at a furious rate too. The others looked to him in shock, but then they continued digging, digging a hole into the night for Mori. And so, the four remaining members dug a grave for Morinozuka Takashi, the first of them to finally rest in peace.

The waves of the ocean were strangely quiet that night.

----------

"So after they killed Morinozuka, nobody ran?" Renge asked in the office.

"I wanted too, but a voice in the back of my mind said that if I ran, I would suffer a similar fate to Mori. I didn't want to die yet."

"But why didn't you say anything?"

"Believe me, Agent Houshakuji, I tried. But Tamaki had made up his mind. He was a grounded guy. I mean, he used to be a cop. So to him, the explanation was always simple. Nobody argued with Tamaki because they all agreed with him. So we just set our minds on killing Yamamoto."

----------

Yamamoto walked through the entrance to an office tower. He had his two bodyguards in tow. He walked past a woman reading a newspaper on his way to the elevator.

The woman was Haruhi. She reached up to her ear, a wire running from her collar. "He's coming up."

On the twentieth floor, Tamaki, Kyouya, and Hikaru were standing next to the six elevators. They were well disguised as servicemen, walkie-talkies attached to their belts. The floor was under construction, and they easily managed to gain access.

The elevators that led to the floor had been tampered with, all six open and stranded.

Hikaru got into one elevator and hid in the opening hatch.

The elevator went down, and it picked up Yamamoto and his bodyguards. Hikaru was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, in the middle of the elevator ride, the lights in the elevator went out. During this time, Hikaru's hand reached out from the hatch.

Yamamoto heard two POP sounds. When the lights returned, he saw the two dead bodies of his bodyguards. Then he looked up and stared into the barrel of a pistol. He was surprisingly calm.

"Press twenty," Hikaru said.

When the elevator reached floor twenty, Tamaki and Kyouya greeted him. It seemed to be going all too smoothly, and Yamamoto was acquiescing to this kidnapping. Hikaru jumped from the hatch and pushed Yamamoto forward.

Kyouya and Hikaru dragged the two dead bodies out and dropped it in the next elevator.

Tamaki grabbed onto Yamamoto and held a gun to his head. "The answer is no."

"My employer will be--"

"Look. There is no Kumori Wang, and if you mention his name again, I'll kill you right now, no hesitation."

"A strange threat. But I assume that you've come to kill me anyway. A pity for Morinozuka-san though," Yamamoto replied.

"Just shut up," Hikaru snapped.

The third elevator opened, and Haruhi stepped out.

"Ah, Fujioka-san. Please join us," Yamamoto pleasantly said.

"We know that you can get to us, but now we want you to know that we can get to you. This is your last chance to call it off," Tamaki said, pushing the gun into Yamamoto's head.

"My employer has made up his mind. He does not change his conviction."

"Neither do we," replied Haruhi.

"You got Mori, you may get more, but you won't get us all. You won't. I promise to you that one of us will get to you," Hikaru said.

"I sincerely believe you, Hitachiin-san. I really do. You would not have been chosen if you were not capable, but the threats that you have given me will seem…ludicrous in comparison to what will be done to me if--" Yamamoto was cut off.

"Just so you know, I'm going to be the one who gets you," Hikaru said.

"I am so sorry." Then he turned to Tamaki. "If you would listen to me, I can assure you that my employer is very real and very determined."

"We'll see about that," Tamaki replied.

Hikaru switched places with Tamaki and now, he held the gun to Yamamoto's head, ready to pull the trigger at any moment. This would be for Mori.

"But, before you…do me in, Hitachiin-san, you would allow me to finish my business with Jounouchi-san, would you?" Yamamoto asked.

Tamaki suddenly was alert. Why was Ayame here? Unless that lawyer was bluffing? Thoughts such as these raced through his mind. Instinctively, he grabbed Hikaru's hand to push the gun away.

"What did you say?" he finally croaked out.

"Jounouchi Ayame. She is upstairs in my office for the proceedings of an extradition. I had specifically asked for her to be put on the case. She is indeed very talented. She flew out yesterday."

Everyone looked at Tamaki, unsure of what to do.

"But not matter…Shoot away, Hitachiin-san," Yamamoto said, never losing his cool.

"You're lying," Tamaki said, hoping that that was the case.

"Am I?"

----------

The five walked down the hallway of the fortieth floor. Kyouya held a small pistol aimed at Yamamoto's back.

Finally they reached his office. Through the glass wall, Tamaki could see Ayame talking with a group of attorneys. A tall strong man stood behind her.

Yamamoto had been right. Without being told, Kyouya lowered the gun.

"The man behind Jounouchi-san is her escort. He never leaves her for a moment, so I thought you'd like to know she was in good hands," Yamamoto said.

Seeing that no one had a reply for him, he continued. "Please get your rest. The boat will be ready on Friday. But if I see you or any of your friends before then, or if you fail to check in every half hour with that very strong man over there, Jounouchi-san will find herself the victim of a very gruesome death. As will your father, Ryoji, Fujioka-san. And your brother, Akito, Ohtori-san. And I might order your niece, Ami, to be strangled, Hitachiin-san. Do I make myself clear?"

They crowded around him, desperately wanting to kill him. The lawyer had proved that he had will, and they had no choice but to concede. There was no choice.

"I will take care of the bodies of the dead men. We'll add them to the cost of Morinozuka-san. Good day to you all," he said before going thorough the glass door to where the other attorneys were seated. He said something to Ayame, who laughed, but he was directing his gaze at Tamaki. The escort of Ayame did the same.

Kyouya gave a slight nod to Yamamoto, and then they left.

----------

The remaining four were sitting in a rented Honda on a hill overlooking Tokyo Bay. The next day, they had left Hokkaido flying down south into Tokyo. The next few days were spent in preparing for the job. Tonight, they would do it.

The dashboard was covered with files and piles of papers from Yamamoto.

"This is a nightmare," Tamaki said, looking at a map of the boat. "Close quarters, no advance layout. There are ten men, maybe twenty."

"Can we stealth them?" Haruhi asked.

"I doubt it. With all that coke, they'll be ready. And this brings me to the second point. Even if we jack the boat, we get nothing."

"And if we wait for the money?" Hikaru asked.

"Then there'll be at least ten more men. In my opinion, it can't be done. Whoever goes on that boat won't come off alive." Tamaki said.

"I'm for waiting for the money," Hikaru said.

"Me too," said Haruhi.

"Didn't you hear what he said?" Kyouya asked.

"I did, but if I have to go in, I'd rather have a stake," Haruhi reasoned.

"So do I," agreed Hikaru.

Kyouya was against this. He was going to say something, but then he looked at Tamaki. The look on Tamaki's face gave him his answer.

He leaned back into the seat and sighed. "I just can't believe that we're going to walk straight into death."

Silence reigned in the car, the graveness of the situation suddenly dawning on them.

----------

Tamaki and Kyouya were hiding behind the cargo. They were trying to listen to the people inside the boathouse.

"What language are they saying?" Kyouya asked.

"I don't know. Korean, maybe."

"Chinese?"

"Shh. Be quiet."

Hikaru was climbing to get to the top of the boathouse. Then he saw the boat.

It was large, sleek and yacht-like. It was the type of boats used for business: no frills, but fast and practical. Automatically, Hikaru was reminded of Haruhi; if she ever did buy a boat, that would be the one, he thought with a smile.

He knew what the consequences if the job failed, but he had learned to savor every moment of living, because hey – you never know.

----------

Meanwhile, Haruhi was maneuvering though a mesh of steel before finally arriving at the stern of the boat. She saw a black sedan pull up next to a crane. From the car, seven men filed out. Four wore suits, and three others wore civilian clothes.

On the boat, a group of men had emerged. Probably came from below deck, thought Haruhi as she watched them. They were speaking in different languages. One was speaking Chinese, the others speaking Korean. They finally spoke in Japanese for the negotiators.

Seeing the people gone, Haruhi had run and hid in the sedan. She was carrying a large bag of explosives, and she set a timer on it.

She placed the bag on the ground of the sedan and took out a walkie-talkie.

"Are we ready?" she said.

----------

Hikaru had situated himself comfortably on the top of the boathouse. He reached for his radio and said, "Ready when you are."

"Everybody, be quiet. Hikaru, I want you to be ready in ten seconds," Tamaki said into the radio.

"Roger."

Then Tamaki turned to Kyouya who was next to him. "I want you to stay here, got that?"

"What? What are you saying? I'm supposed to--"

"If we don't make it out, I want you to take the money and go."

"What? Why? I can't just do that."

"This is what I want you to do. Find Ayame. Go to someplace safe and tell her. She'll know what to do. She knows people. She'll get Yamamoto her way if we can't get him our way."

"But--"

"Please, Kyouya, do this for me. You're my friend."

Tamaki stood up, ready to leave the shadows. He looked back a final time at Kyouya, his face marked with sadness and possibly regret. But then he smiled and said, "At the very least…tell her I tried."

Then he walked away, leaving Kyouya behind.

As soon as Tamaki walked out, a man on the dock spotted him. He signaled to the other men, and they came closer, surrounding Tamaki. Tamaki's face betrayed no emotion, and his hands were hidden inside his pockets.

From high above, Hikaru aimed the barrel of his rifle. He went through a mock trial of hitting all fifteen men on the dock. It would take no more than a few seconds, he decided.

On the deck, the men were bombarding Tamaki with questions in a jumble of different languages.

----------

By now, most of the men near the sedan had left, moving towards the dock where all the commotion apparently was. Haruhi took this chance, running into the darkness, carrying the bomb with her.

-----------

Hikaru was looking through the scope of his rifle. It would start soon. To keep himself occupied, Hikaru sang to himself a little song:

_Twinkle twinkle little star _

_How I wonder what you are _

_Up above the world so high _

_I could shoot you in the eye…_

Two of the fifteen men on the deck had moved a lot closer to Tamaki. The others had taken out their guns, all aimed at a blonde man in the center.

At the other end of the deck, Haruhi threw the bomb with all her might. It landed on the stern of the boat.

The men looked at the explosion. They were distracted, and this was Tamaki's signal. From his pockets, he took out two pistols, one in each hand. He shot the two men closest to him.

Hikaru had begun shooting, firing as fast as he could. The men on the dock now had two people firing at them, but they didn't know where the second fire was coming from. They tried to run away, but when the smoke cleared, only Tamaki remained standing.

Hikaru ran along of the roof of the boathouse, and he agilely jumped like a cat down to the pier. He climbed across the cable rope that led to the yacht, and then he was on.

Tamaki jumped onto a small lifeboat, and from there, he too, jumped onto the boat.

Haruhi had been running along the dock from the other side, shooting at all the people she could see onboard the ship. Soon enough, she realized that there was no one left, that she was the only one alive.

Then, she turned back and ran towards the sedan at the pier above. She found a ramp leading to the car, and saw that one man that had stayed behind.

In as masculine as a voice she could muster, Haruhi ran towards the car yelling, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! They're all dead! Let's get the hell out of here!" She raised her gun in the air in a sign of peace. Thankfully, it was late at night, and the man couldn't see her anyway.

BOOM!

Once close enough, she shot the man point-blank range, and ran over to the sedan and yanked the back doors open. She had been in charge of getting the money, the group had decided, because she was very practical and wouldn't get greedy.

It was true. All her life Haruhi had despised the people with money, or as she called them, "rich bastards." They spent their money on ridiculous things on impulse, and she hated it. Out in the real world, people were working hard for very little money. Really, it wasn't fair how life blessed some to wealth and others to poverty.

Not that she cared about money, of course. When the day came that she could be a lawyer, she wanted to use her knowledge to help the unfortunate. After all, that's what her mother had done.

The trunk was completely filled with small wooden crates. She forced one open, and saw that it was filled with cash. _Bingo._ There were cash and negotiable bonds of all kinds; now she just had to--

BANG!

Haruhi heard a noise.

----------

Even now, I'm a bit shaken about Mori, I really didn't want to kill him.

So, what did Haruhi hear?

If you have any questions, just ask. Please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Yay! I'm so happy you read it, Jazyrha!

This is the last chapter, and it's the longest.

More deaths though...Hopefully, this is where everything comes together, if I wrote it right. Also, towards the end of the chapter, there's a lot of italicized stuff. Just a note, it's words that has been said in previous chapters and Renge is realizing the truth behind those words...You'll see when you get there.

Ah...this was really fun to write; this was my first fic. I hope that it'll always be this fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything...

----------

_Recap from last chapter:_

BANG!

Haruhi heard a noise.

----------

She looked down. There was a hole through her stomach, and blood had sprayed onto the money that she held in her hands.

Slowly, she turned around, knowing that she was taking her last breaths. _I'll never become a lawyer._ It was almost as if a flash of white light had hit her. _I never ate ootoro..._ A look of complete horror was plastered on her face.

A second shot was aimed at her head.

_Dear mother in heaven..._

BOOM!

----------

Hikaru was running like a madman. On the deck of the boat, he was shooting in all directions. He heard the bodies falling, their screams of agony, but it didn't register as anything. He was running for the hatch, the door that led into the ship.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Tamaki climbing up onto the deck of the boat.

----------

Kyouya was sitting in the warehouse. He hadn't contemplated on what he should or needed to do. _Please, Kyouya, do this for me..._ Then he made his decision. He headed for the other side of the warehouse.

----------

Tamaki had reached the hatch first. Upon entering, he shot a man on his way down the stairs. Hikaru was just behind him.

----------

His limp leg caused his running speed to be slow, but Kyouya managed to reach the top of the ramp that led from the dock to the pier. He never let his disability hinder his will.

There he spotted a back sedan parked. When he got closer he saw a dead body on the ground. It was Haruhi. He gave a gasp and looked around as if to expect her murderer to still be there.

He headed back towards the deck.

----------

"Why didn't you run away?" Renge asked Kyouya.

"I froze. I couldn't run. I remembered what Mori's face looked like when we buried him, and I remembered what Tamaki had said. I just couldn't. Besides, it looked like we could pull it off."

Takaoji entered the office and motioned to Renge to come outside.

Standing in the hall way was Hunny.

"Ah, Haninozuka-san, what is it?" asked Renge.

Hunny said nothing merely handing her a thick manila envelope. She flipped through it. "This is…"

"A boy found a body on the beach today. It was obviously thrown off the boat. It had two shots in the head. Two men from the government just identified him," he said.

"And?"

"His name is Kuze. Kuze Takeshi. He's a petty smuggler from Kyushu. Arrested last year for trafficking. He escapes to Kanto and gets caught in Kyoto. The authorities try setting up his extradition again when he escapes. Now listen to this - Jounouchi Ayame gets called in for the proceedings," Hunny said.

"Yamamoto."

"Precisely. I called into Kyushu's Prefecture Police Department, and they fax me a copy of Kuze's testimony. He was a rat."

Renge thumbed through the back pages. She gave a low whistle. "A big one too."

"Kuze was strongly opposed to going back to prison. So much that he informs close to fifty people. Guess who he names for the finale."

On the last page, a paragraph had been highlighted. Renge didn't even glance at it when she replied, "Kumori Wang."

Hunny gave a sigh. "That's not it."

----------

Renge walked back into the office and sat down in front of Kyouya. She gave a smug smile.

"I'll tell you what I know. Stop me when it sounds familiar to you."

"Pardon me?"

She stared into his eyes. "There was no dope on that ship."

----------

Tamaki worked his way through the low-light corridors, running through countless rooms that could be called cells.

On the other side of the boat, Hikaru was doing the same. He didn't seem interested in securing the cargo as he was manically killing all the men he saw. He was shooting and shouting, running, killing some more men, shouting. Repeat as necessary.

----------

One bodyguard was standing in a corridor. He was guarding a room at the end of the hallway. Just a few moments earlier, he had pushed a trembling man through the door.

"H-he's he-here. I-I kn-kn-know. I jus-just saw h-him," the man had mumbling, obviously terror-stricken.

"Just get in and stay inside, you old man," the bodyguard had replied, slightly pushing to keep the man inside.

However, even now, the guard could still hear the man through the walls. He was yelling, "I'm telling you, it's Kumori Wang! The devil!"

----------

A four foot high door greeted Tamaki. He open it slightly, and bent over to stepp inside. From the structure of the room, he guessed that it was the hold.

But there was something strange about the place…Then he heard a noise. He whirled around and aimed his pistol. It was Hikaru.

"Did you find it?" Tamaki yelled at him. It was loud in the hold, and only by screaming your head off could you make the other person hear you.

"What?" Hikaru yelled back.

"I said - Did you find anything!!"

"NO!"

"Good!"

"Why?"

"Because there is no coke!"

Hikaru stared at Tamaki, as if he were some four-year-old. "What?" he asked again.

"There. Is. No. Damn. Coke!" Tamaki answered in a half-sarcastic, half-deliberate way.

The only noise heard in the hold was sound of engines rumbling, and of the remaining people above.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Hikaru said finally.

"Right behind you," said Tamaki. This place was only getting weirder and weirder…

They left the hold, and were in some corridor now. Slowly and cautiously, they tried to retrace their steps back. When they heard gunfire, they separated, Hikaru going right and Tamaki going left.

----------

The bodyguard heard a noise. He cocked his gun and squinted into the darkness. The old man had finally quieted down, he noted with pleasure. Who could concentrate with all that noise?

Although the man was no longer saying anything, his fears were still there. He was sitting inside on the ground. The dark walls of his room seemed to eat him up, and that was when he heard a noise outside.

He heard the sound of two gunshots, and he timidly crawled towards the door. Someone from the outside opened the door, and the bodyguard slid onto the floor, a bullet hole between his eyes.

The terrified man looked up. He was trembling twice as hard now. His voice was nearly gone, but he still managed to get it out. "I swear. I-I told them nothing. I swear...I swear!" He was crying and sharply closed his eyes, expecting the worse.

The answer the poor man got was two gunshots, both in the head. The spray of the blood stained the locked window porthole; the small hole had been the man's last glimpse of freedom.

----------

From the deck, Tamaki saw a crippled figure out on the dock. It was Kyouya. They looked at each other for no more than a second before Tamaki turned away and waved his hand, as if to shoo him away.

Kyouya saw Tamaki. _He's still alive._ After debating with himself for a moment, he left the dock and headed once again for the sedan with the money.

Suddenly, Tamaki heard a noise behind him. He raised his pistol, but lowered it when he saw that it was Hikaru.

But something was not right with Hikaru. He was smiling, looking like he was drunk even though he wasn't. He walked slowly across the deck towards Tamaki. His eyes seemed to swirl.

"The…strangest thing…" he mumbled before he fell with a thud onto the deck. Tamaki rushed over to him. A knife was sticking out on the back of his head.

Tamaki had always told himself never to get upset over death. However the past few weeks with these criminals had indeed left a mark on him - whether he admitted it or not. Seeing Hikaru dead in front of him, made him a bit remorseful, considering that Tamaki was a man who had seen Death many, many times.

He turned Hikaru over, right side up, and removed the knife from his head. It was bloody, of course, and Tamaki threw it away in disgust to the other side of the deck.

Then he laid him down, closed the dead man's eyes, and ran from the deck.

----------

Kyouya had ran back to the sedan. He stepped carefully over Haruhi's body and closed the doors of the back trunk.

He noticed a crane moving slowly, and then picking up more speed. Then he realized where it was heading. Instantly he headed back towards the pier to tell Tamaki.

----------

Tamaki hadn't seen the crane.

WHAM!

It had hit him square in the back, and it sent him flying. He flew against the wheel house of the boat.

He was alive. Instinctively, he tried to stand up, but then he realized that he could not move his legs…

----------

Kyouya ran down the ramp as fast as he could to the pier. He saw the rope ladder that led up to the boat, but then he looked up. He gasped, dead in his tracks.

He saw a tall thin man walk along the deck of the boat. The man walked steadily and quietly in the shadows towards the crane. He wore an expensive suit, which made him look out of place.

He wasn't sure why, but something about the man horrified him.

----------

"And that's when you say in your statement that you saw…" Renge looked through the pages of the statement. "You say you saw a man in a suit with a slim build. Tall."

"Wait a moment." Kyouya held up his right hand, and looked down. He was thinking.

"Wait a moment. I don't have a moment right now, Ohtori! Nor do I have a second! Nor do I have a minute! No more stalling! You know what I'm getting at!" Renge said.

"I don't."

"Yes you do! You know what I'm getting at. It's the truth! Stop trying to tell me you don't know! Stop trying to tell me that Suoh got shot!" She backed him into a corner when he tried to move away from her. Right now, Renge looked menacing, but Kyouya kept his cool. "Why don't you stop lying for once, Ohtori! I know everything!"

"First point, Agent Houshakuji, if you knew everything you wouldn't have to ask me. Second point, I do not know what you are trying to say."

This made Renge twice as mad. She was truly pissed off now. Her labored breathing was, for what seemed like years, the only sound in the room.

"I don't understand what you are trying to say. I said I saw Tamaki get shot," Kyouya said. "Why can't you believe me?"

"If that's the case, why didn't you help him?" Renge slowed her breathing down.

At that moment, Renge felt as if Kyouya had looked right into her soul. His voice, which sounded like it would crack at any moment, was small, yet stern. "I was afraid, okay? Somehow, for some reason, I had deduced that the man was Kumori Wang. I couldn't bring myself to raise my gun at him. I just couldn't."

"But if it was Tamaki…"

Kyouya was being very calm. "It was Kumori Wang, Agent Houshakuji. The Devil himself." He adjusted his glasses and looked at her. "How do you shoot the Devil in the back?"

Then he lifted up his own hand, which had begun shaking wildly.

"What if you miss?"

----------

Kyouya was hiding behind a jumble of cables and boxes on the barge. He couldn't see Tamaki, but he could see the man in the suit.

The man had thrown a bucket of sea water to put out a small flame on the deck. Then the man walked down a set of stairs over to where Tamaki sat. He saw them exchange a few words, though he couldn't hear what they said. Then he saw the man take out a pistol and aim it at Tamaki. He heard a 'BANG' sound, but he didn't see Tamaki; he had turned around at the last moment at the sounds of the police who were getting closer and closer.

They would be here in any moment.

He saw the flashing red and blue lights.

Then he turned back to the deck. He saw the man run towards the gangway. But then he saw him no longer. It was nearly, if not completely dark, and Kyouya's angle from the barge was poor.

Behind him were the cops. He could hear them a lot more clearly now, soon enough, the police would be here.

----------

"Kuze Takeshi," Renge said. "Have you ever heard of him?"

"Excus- no."

"He was a rat. It's all in his testimony. He had sworn out a statement saying that he could positively identify one Kumori Wang and had intimate knowledge of his business including, but not exclusive to, drug dealing and trafficking."

"I have never heard of him."

"His own people were selling him to a gang of Chinese. Probably the same one that Wang had all but wiped out back in China. The money wasn't there for the dope. It was for the one man who could finger Kumori Wang for them."

"I said I have never heard of him."

"But Suoh knew," she said with a bit of disgust. "Jounouchi Ayame was on the extradition proceedings. She knew and he would know."

"I was not aware of this fact."

"There were no drugs on that boat, Ohtori. It was a hit. A suicide mission to kill the one man who could identify Kumori Wang. So he had a few thieves do it. People who he knew would walk straight into death."

"But how- wait. Are you suggesting that Kumori Wang sent us to kill someone?"

"I'm saying Suoh did."

Kyouya didn't understand this. He blinked and rubbed his eyes.

Renge continued. "Ohtori, I believe that Suoh left you behind for a reason. If you all knew that Wang could find out where you were at this second, why was he ready to send you off with the money instead of using you to take the boat?"

"He wanted me to live."

"But why did he want you to live? A one-time dirty cop finds it in his heart to save a worthless rat-cripple? I don't believe that for a second. So why?"

"Ayame."

"I don't believe that reform story either. And even if I did, why would he send you to protect her? It makes no logical sense."

"He was my friend."

"No, Ohtori. You weren't friends. Suoh didn't have friends. He saved you because it was his will. It was what he wanted."

This time, Kyouya could make no answer. He stared that the bulletin board behind the messy desk. Then he began to grasp the complexity of the situation.

"No…"

Slowly and with force, Renge said, "Suoh was Kumori Wang."

"No."

"The kind of man who could manipulate the minds of people like Hitachiin and Fujioka. The kind of man who could engineer a line-up like that from all of his years of contacts in the police. I'm telling you: Suoh Tamaki was Kumori Wang!"

"No! It's not true!"

Renge sat back down in an armchair. "He was the kind of man who would kill Jounouchi Ayame."

He looked up in shock at her. It was a strange look on his face, a combination of shock and perhaps revelation.

"They found her in a hotel room in Osaka yesterday. Shot once in the head," she continued.

"No…Why? Ayame…" Kyouya muttered.

"He used all of you to get him on that boat. He couldn't get on by himself, but he had to pull the trigger himself to get rid of the man who could identify him. He had to make sure he got his man."

"There's no evidence…"

"He left you to stay behind and tell us he had died, right? You say you saw him die? Or did you? You had to hide when the first police cars showed up. You heard the shot, but you don't know if he died or not."

"I knew him. He wouldn't-"

"Suoh programmed you to tell us just what he wanted. We at Customs have been investigating him for years now. He knew we were getting close. I've admitted it myself. But where was the political pressure coming from? Why are you being protected? It was all Suoh to make sure you told us what you were supposed to. Hence, immunity is your reward."

"But. But why me? It could have been Haruhi or Mori or Hikaru? Why me? I'm a cripple? I'm not that smart, so why me?"

He fell back into his chair in a slump. Renge looked at him with some degree of pity, but she continued anyway.

"Because you're a cripple. Because you're not that smart, Ohtori," she said. "You were weaker than them. You couldn't see that far into Suoh unlike the others."

He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to convince himself an alternate truth.

"If he truly is dead, if what you say is true, then it won't matter. So tell me, was it his idea to hit the Taxi Service in Osaka?"

Kyouya was shaken. He wasn't sure what to say, but finally he replied, "It was all him. It was Tamaki. We followed him from the beginning."

Renge felt triumphant. She had been right after all.

"I didn't know. I saw him die…I'm sure of it. I believe that he is dead…Christ," Kyouya finished.

"But why lie about everything else then?" she asked.

"Do you know what it's like, Agent Houshakuji? To know that you will never be a good person? I could never be like you, of course. I grew up with people telling me that I was no good, since I was a cripple and all. And I had two older brothers. They were perfect, unlike me. They could do anything my father asked of them, even more. But not me.

"If I think about it, I wasn't even a good thief. The only thing that I was good at - or I thought I was good - was keeping quiet. I didn't want to tell you, out of pure dignity. But now you've robbed me of that. You've robbed me." He looked away.

Then Renge pulled out a small recorder from her jacket and placed it on the desk. Kyouya saw it, and for a moment, even managed to give a small smile. But it was soon replaced by a wave of nausea.

"You are not safe on your own," Renge said simply.

"You think that Tamaki's…?"

"…is he Kumori Wang? I don't know Ohtori. It seems like he's a shield, or like you said, a spook story, but I know Suoh. It may not be him, but someone out there is pulling strings for you. Stay here and we can protect you."

"No way. I'm not going to do that. I post today."

"You posted bail twenty minutes ago. The captain wants you out of here right now, unless you turn state's."

"I'll take my chances, thank you very much."

"Where are you going to go? Are you going to run? Turn state's evidence. You might never see trial. If someone is going to get you, it'll be out there."

"I understand that, Agent Houshakuji, but I'm no rat. You tricked me. I won't keep quiet because I'm scared. It's because I let Tamaki down by getting caught - Ayame too. And if they kill me, I'm sure you will know why.

Then he stood up, gathering up the last of his withered dignity. He couldn't believe what Houshakuji had done to him. Takaoji opened the door for him from the outside.

He turned to go, but he stopped to look at Renge in the eye.

"Damn cops."

----------

Kasanoda Ritsu walked out of the hospital room. In his hand, he held a single sheet of paper.

He almost raced down the stairs - he didn't even take the elevator. Once down in the reception area, he stopped only to ask the receptionist a question. "Can I use your fax machine?"

----------

Kyouya was picking up his belongings in the depot of the police station.

The cop was checking off his items. "One watch: gold. One pen: gold. One wallet: black…"

----------

Hunny was waiting for the fax from Kasanoda in the hospital.

----------

Renge was sipping a cup of coffee, sitting on Taakoji's desk while he looked through some papers. She was staring solemnly at the bulletin board behind him.

"You still don't know," Takaoji said.

"I know what I wanted to know about Suoh," she replied, still staring at the board.

"Which is nothing."

"Oh well. He'll have to know how close we were though."

"What a waste of time, Renge-san."

"A rumor is not a rumor that doesn't die," she muttered.

"What?"

"Oh it's - nothing. Forget it."

Renge shook her head and gestured towards his desk. "Why do you have so much music sheets and all around here?"

"Oh, my wife says there's too much at home, so I bring it all here."

"You like music?"

"I've played the piano forever. I was thinking about becoming a pianist actually when I was younger. That's how I met my wife - through music…"

But Renge wasn't listening. She was looking at the bulletin board, looking at jumble of messed up papers, not really focusing at all.

----------

Renge was staring at the bulletin board still, amidst Takaoji's droning. She was sipping her coffee, which was slowly becoming lukewarm.

Her eyes were absentmindedly scanning it, not really paying attention. There were notices, old mug shots, concert invitations. But her eyes had then locked onto the bottom left hand corner, a small steel plate bearing the manufacturer's name.

"Quartet - Kyoto," she read.

She was thinking of what she had said. She froze, holding her coffee mug midway.

_Convince me…_

_Oh I was in that music quartet in Kyoto for a while. I played the violin…No, no ,no, this has to do with everything…I wouldn't lie._

_What we have to do is think. Think back…_

_What are you saying Agent Houshakuji? _

_I'm sure you've heard of many tall tales about my employer…_

_This isn't right._

_Tell me everything last detail._

_I just want to know what happened…_

_It's all there, in my statement. I'm telling you everything. It's all true…_

In the upper right hand corner was a picture of Takaoji with a woman, presumably his wife. However, underneath that photo was a mug shot of an incredibly obese man. Renge didn't bother looking at the man's name, but then she saw the man's aliases.

Slave. Monkey. Shanks. BLACKPAW. Cod…

_The fence was some guy up in Hokkaido. The name was Blackpaw. _

_I work for Kumori Wang._

_A gift from my employer…_

_Talk to me about Blackpaw, Ohtori. _

_Blackpaw knew nothing. My employer rarely works with the same people for long._

_There was a lawyer. Yamamoto._

Renge glanced down further. Then she saw an old flier advertising coffee. There was no specific location mentioned. The word, 'West', dramatized the paper, making it seem very important.

_Back when I worked in the coffee farms in the West, that was the real thing…Fresh. This is shit, but then again, I'm in a police station…_

_I know you thought Suoh was a good man._

_No. He was a good man._

Renge thought about the deaths of Kuze, Fujioka, Morinozuka, and supposedly Suoh. She imagined what must have been a cruel death for all. They had all been…

Absentmindedly, she dropped her coffee mug on the ground. The brown liquid spread on the tiled floor. She thought she heard Takaoji look up in surprise and grumble. She heard a door open and then slam.

The broken pieces of the mug lay on the ground. She kept staring at the board.

_Tell me every last detail._

_The...strangest thing…_

_Agent Houshakuji, how do you shoot the Devil in the back?_

_…What if you miss?_

_This guy is protected from high above from the Prince of Darkness. Total immunity._

Her eyes kept looking around the board, darting around. Was there something else?

_There was a lawyer. _

_What lawyer, Ohtori?_

_His name was Yamamoto._

The name of Yamamoto resounded and repeated itself in her head.

_Tell me every last detail…_

_I am Yamamoto._

_Yamamoto. Yamamoto. Yamamoto. Yamamoto…_

Then Renge saw for herself. She saw the broken pieces on the ground. She saw the bottom of the cup.

_Yamamoto Porcelain. _it read. Her head was swirling with thoughts. _Oh my god... _All those times Kyouya had looked up at her as she drank her coffee. He would have seen the label on the bottom of the cup many times. Many times...

_I work for Kumori Wang._

_Convince me. Convince me. Convince me. Convince me…_

She sprang up suddenly. Takaoji had come back and was cleaning up the coffee, but he hadn't noticed anything. She ran out, ignoring Takaoji's calls for help in cleaning. He stared after her in shock.

Renge was running as fast as she could. She headed for the fastest route out. _The stairs!_

----------

Just then, the fax machine in the office gave a little ring. The picture had arrived.

Hunny saw Renge run out, but he didn't know why. In his hand, he was holding a cup of coffee, and he walked towards the fax machine.

The picture of the supposed 'Kumori Wang' was coming.

----------

Renge raced down the stairs, hoping to still catch him. He was a cripple, Kyouya couldn't have gotten that far.

_Every criminal, every scumbag, every cop on the street will know the name of Ohtori Kyouya…_

Kyouya was slowly walking down the stairs of the police station. The bright sunlight, which he had not seen for a few hours, blinded him.

His glasses glared in the light, and he pulled up his sleeve to block it.

The streets were as busy as ever on this Tokyo Friday. Cars choked on the streets, the people rushing like ants to cross the intersection.

She reached the front desk and almost screamed at the man working there. "The cripple! Did you see him? The cripple! Which way did he go?"

"Oh, um, that way," the elderly man pointed towards the front exit.

She ran out.

-----------

_I know you know something, Ohtori. You're just not saying it. I know it._

_I'm smarter than you. And I'm going to get what I want out of you whether you like it or not…_

_To a cop, the explanation is never that complicated. That's just how Tamaki…_

_You know what I'm trying to get at, Ohtori! The truth! The truth!_

_Come on, Ohtori, just tell me…_

_Who else would it be? Someone with enough power and someone who could manipulate the minds of people like…_

_You think you can catch him?_

_KUMORI WANG! THE DEVIL!_

Kyouya was walking down the street.

_You think a guy who gets this close to getting caught is going to stick his neck out?_

Renge was outside the station, her eyes looking for a crippled man with glasses. Her eyes were straining, since there were hordes of people walking around.

She kept looking…

_Because you're stupid. Because you're a cripple Ohtori. You couldn't see…_

The limp in Kyouya's leg was slowly disappearing as he walked, then fast walked until there was no limp at all. The small hunch in his back disappeared as he straightened up. He was walking with his head high, like a man with a large sense of dignity.

_Because you're a cripple…_

_NO!_

_You know what I want! You know the whole story! Then why don't you just say it!_

Kyouya was walking faster and deliberately. It seemed like his entire aura had changed in a span of a dew seconds. His step was firm and sounded, his head up.

_Who's Kumori Wang?_

_KUMORI WANG!_

_Who is he?_

_Who is he?_

The picture back in the office was coming out. Hunny looked at it with interest. True, he had translated for the man, but he hadn't seen the picture before.

On the paper was a face of a man with dark hair. He wore glasses. Cat-like eyes…

_I know he's dead. I'm sure Tamaki is dead…_

_I…cannot feel my legs…Kumori…_

_First thing I learned on the job was how to spot a murderer._

_They tell me you're talking to the cripple from Osaka._

_Yeah._

_Did he mention a Kumori Wang?_

_...Who?_

A car had somehow pulled up to the sidewalk next to Kyouya. He put his gold watch on his wrist, and looked around.

He walked towards the car. It was a small black Mercedes. He opened the door and stepped inside.

The driver had light brown hair parted to the left. It was the lawyer.

They shared a look, and without a word, the car drove off into the busy street.

_And after that, my guess is that you'll never hear from him again._

Renge ran down the street. She stopped at the place where Kyouya had stood only moments before, but now he was gone. Looking around, she realized that he was gone. It was impossible for her to see the black Mercedes that had just sped past a green light.

_And then, just like that, he's gone…_

_----------_

Oh wow. It's finally over. I hope it was ok and not too confusing.

Actually, I take that back. You might still be confused, but now that it's over I might clear some things up.

Whether Kyouya really is "Kumori Wang", who knows? When Kyouya narrates his story to Renge, hopefully you realized that not everything was true. For example, if first scene in the first chapter is true, then it is not possible for Kyouya to witness Tamaki's death because he was the one killing him...or is it?

I think the best way is for you to decide for yourself who Kumori Wang is. Will you believe Kyouya's story or is there something else? People will always have different ideas on how it ending because it's so open ended. There are so amny possibilities.

So, just ask if there's something still confusing you, and thank you for reading!


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